permanent portfolio family of funds type limited liability corporation industry investment management founded 1982 headquarters san francisco u.s. area served usa key people michael cuggino products permanent portfolio short term treasury portfolio aggressive growth portfolio versatile bond portfolio aum 17 billion 1 website official web site permanent portfolio family of funds is an american mutual fund investment company founded in 1982 . 2 the company s products consist of four mutual funds . its flagship fund the permanent portfolio is based on the investment strategies of harry browne . contents 1 history 2 products 2.1 permanent portfolio fund 2.2 aggressive growth portfolio 2.3 other 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the company was established in 1982 and its first offering was a mutual fund called the permanent portfolio prpfx . 2 the short term treasury portfolio prtbx was founded in 1987 . 2 a stock fund called aggressive growth portfolio pagrx was opened in 1990 2 and michael cuggino was hired to manage it . 3 in 1991 the company added the versatile bond portfolio prvbx which invests 80 % or more of its net assets in bonds . 2 cuggino a certified public accountant took control of the permanent portfolio fund in 2003 when his predecessor was sanctioned by the securities and exchange commission . 2 4 5 other company leaders include james h. andrews as treasurer susan k. freund as chief compliance officer and derek d. hyatt as their senior investment analyst . 2 products edit permanent portfolio fund edit the company s flagship fund was established in 1982 by terry coxan and john chandler and mimicked an early version of the permanent portfolio concept of browne . 6 according to kiplinger s personal finance magazine it was designed to neutralize high inflation by investing in precious metals swiss bonds u.s. treasury bills and natural resource stocks . this was similar to browne s strategy of 25 % of a portfolio in bonds stocks cash and gold with annual re balancing . browne s strategy was portrayed as a fail safe investment strategy and was outlined in his 1999 book fail safe investing . 7 the permanent portfolio mutual fund however is more complex than browne s original concept and has six asset categories . 4 the fund aims to invest in a fixed percentage of uncorrelated asset categories to minimize risk in changing economic climates . 2 these include 35 % in government bonds 25 % in gold and silver bullion 15 % in growth stocks 10 % in cash and swiss francs and 15 % in energy mining and real estate stocks . 7 the funds concept is to preserve capital and provide low risk growth through diversification . 8 from 1982 through 2008 the fund s assets under management aum were less than 50 million but they grew to 1 billion in 2007 3.4 billion in 2008 and 5 billion in 2009 . 4 as of 2012 the fund had 17 billion in assets under management 9 with 20 % invested in gold bullion 10 and a relatively high 0.71 % annual management fee . 11 12 13 in the 1990s the fund had poor shareholder retention as it badly trailed most stock funds . 14 however between feb. 2 2001 and february 2 2011 the fund averaged an 11 percent annualized return in comparison to a 1.6 percent annualized return for the s & p 500 index . when the s & p 500 index dropped 37 % in the financial crisis of 2008 the permanent portfolio fund lost 8 % . 7 however from its 1982 inception through 2010 the fund had average annual gains of 6.5 % in comparison to the s & p 500 stock index s 10.6 % average annual gain over the same period . 15 the 2012 book the permanent portfolio harry browne s long term investment strategy discusses the funds benefits and limitations . the authors say that the fund manager s investment decisions and the costs associated with an actively managed mutual fund are a downside when compared to an index fund but points out that the fund s management fee of 0.78 % per year is below the mutual fund average . 6 according to a 2006 article in kiplinger s personal finance magazine the fund has delivered on its goal of long term stability with occasional market beating returns . 16 aggressive growth portfolio edit the aggressive growth portfolio pagrx is described as a diversified multi cap core u.s. equity fund with the goal of long term appreciation . 2 in 2002 it had 24 million in assets under management and consisted of large and mid sized companies . 3 in the ten years prior to march 2002 it ranked 34 amongst 797 other diversified mutual funds and had a stock management turnover rate of 6 % . 3 during that period it never had a negative year and its average annual gain was 2 % better than the s & p 500 index . in 2002 its annual management fee was 1.29 % . 3 other edit the company also offers a short term treasury portfolio prtbx which it describes as a short term u.s. treasury bonds fund . 2 the firm s versatile bond portfolio prvbx is said to invest 80 % or more of its net assets in bonds . 2 see also edit fail safe investing references edit unknown author july 31 2012 . market chatter . midnight trader . a b c d e f g h i j k unknown author . about us . permanent portfolio family of funds . retrieved jan 24 2013 . a b c d kosnett jeffrey may 2002 . a gold bug gets it right . kiplinger s. a b c zweig jason september 17 2010 . unlikely superstar how a forgotten fund got hot in a hurry . the wall street journal . retrieved january 24 2013 . unknown author feb 11 2010 . stocks slip again as slow recovery fears multiply . bloomberg news . a b rowland craig lawson j.m. 2012 . the permanent portfolio harry browne s long term investment strategy . hoboken new jersey wiley global finance . pp. 303 to 310 . a b c connell shaun march 21 2012 . how to build an automatic fail proof portfolio . gurufocus . tazner andrew dec 2008 . best funds for rough seas . kiplinger s. grant tim february 17 2010 . spinning cash into gold . pittsburg post gazette . roy debarati august 1 2012 . gold forecasters splitting opinions . bloomberg news . unknown author september 2012 . simple vs. complicated portfolios ; . consumer reports money adviser . nguyen pham duy may 8 2012 . europe s crisis lifts gold to near record ; silver jumps . bloomberg news . connell shaun march 24 2012 . permanent portfolio etf . gurufocus . prince michael june 2006 . kiplinger s. p. 46 asset potpourri http books.google.com books id tgueaaaambaj & pg pa47 & dq permanent portfolio fund & hl en & sa x & ei eycuy3pn4xu2gwcx4cgaw & ved 0cggq6aewcq v onepage & q permanent % 20portfolio % 20fund & f false asset potpourri check url value help . retrieved jan 25 2013 . missing or empty title help carrick rob july 23 2010 . a permanent solution to your investment worries . globe and mail . unknown author sep 2006 . hybrid funds . kiplinger s. p. 46 . external links edit official web site retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title permanent portfolio family of funds & oldid 743699564 categories 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