Hello all.
The wife and I have nearly a year's living expenses socked away in CDs and savings accounts. We currently have no outstanding debt or other obligations.
The thought occurs that if we hit a good stiff bout of inflation (not hyperinflation, mind you, but something quite substantial just the same) our savings will take a hit.
Any thoughts on how to protect our emergency savings in such instances? Everything carries risk, of course, but for these monies we'd be risk adverse. We'd not be looking to make money off the emergency savings -- just keep even with (or so slightly better than) inflation.
I'll also mention we both have a bit of other cash stocked away that is sort of "mad money" but not emergency funds. That mad money is invested in conservative funds (in my case, FESGX; in my wife's case, FPACX, GRSPX and a small speculative bit in OAKGX). Heck, I'm almost tempted to go out and buy a fine Swiss watch (I enjoy timepieces) just to diversify and at least enjoy some of our savings in the event that an inflation bomb goes off (I'm only half-kidding...).
Thanks, all.
Comments
Rob Arnott has some ideas...linked through Claimui:
mutualfundobserver.com/discussions-3/#/discussion/4639/rob-arnott039s-latest-all-asset-commentary
Regards,
Ted
Thompson Bond (THOPX): http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/short-term-bond/thompson-bond-fund/thopx
Lord Abbett Short Duration Income Fund LALDX): http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/short-term-bond/lord-abbett-short-duration-income-fund/laldx
Some short and intermediate term bond Exchange Traded Funds
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/etf/all?assetclass=bond&assetclass=bond
I happen to like BSN Expense Ratio 0.11%,
VTIP ER 0.10% and
BND ER 0.10%.
Pretty darn cheap short-term protection.
With the added ETF advantage that in the case of an emergency, you can
sell anytime during market hours.
If the fund houses weren't currently subsidizing costs of running their money funds, they'd actually have negative yields and so would be withdrawing some of your $$ monthly to cover costs.
I've never held that emergency stashes require absolute "0" volatility. So would be loath to keep large chunks of $$ in cash instruments as the question implies is being done. My cash with fund companies primarily serves as "opportunity" money, allowing quick & easy entry or exit from different equity funds without getting into trouble with FTRs. (exchanges within money market funds are generally exempt from these regs) fwiw
David
Can't recall, but thinking you have acct. at Fidelity. If so, the following could apply:
Fidelity has plans one may set for x-fers between a bank/cu acct. and a Fido brokerage acct. (which allows for the most flexibility).
Fido has about 11 bond funds that are mostly U.S. centered, excluding others that are int'l. and/or index funds; nor HY/HI/EM bond funds. There is also: AGG, LQD and TIP etf's available in-house.
With the active managed funds in-house, one would have to wait one day (after selling) x-ferring out of a fund and into a cash acct. to have access to the monies for EFT to a bank/cu acct.
Muni bond funds may also be a consideration...either their national or a state fund.
A local Fidelity service center (larger metro areas) would be able to provide details; as well as a phone call to Fidelity.
This link provides an overall Fido list. You may scroll down the list or click upon the muni and/or taxable bonds links for those select choices.
Regards,
Catch
catch, I do not have a Fido account, but I appreciate your detailed suggestions.
David, BobC, I think I'll look into NEARX, VMLTX, and the RiverPark fund after I do a bit more due diligence.
bee, I've downloaded Arnott's latest. I don't think I want to go that route (I can somehow never get totally on board with Arnott is selling), but appreciate his insights.
Truth is, however, certain high end Swiss and German watches do a pretty good job of holding value, and even increasing in value. Patek is one, Lange und Söhne is another. Newcomer F. P. Journe (French) is also up there, as is Kari Voutilainen (Finnish/Swiss). Of course, there are maintenance costs and the like. At the end of the day, however, a $35k watch will probably hold its value better than a $50k car. And they're portable.
But I wasn't really being serious.
Well, not terribly serious...
Some of this boom is no doubt due to rising wealth (and wealth disparities) in emerging markets and elsewhere. Even value-for-money brands like Omega are opening boutiques in major international cities. So there must be other drivers of the growth. My father-in-law made a prediction when my wife was a teenager: he said that once the whole world went electronic (digital?) people would discover a fascination with the mechanical. He appears to have been quite prescient. The Great Recession certainly had an effect on markets, but also served to push up volumes of units sold at the higher end and in precious metals. Heck, Ralph Lauren has launched his own mechanical watch line with movements by JLC and (I think) Piaget. Could there be Japanese-style luxury goods consumption effect? Don't know.
Now the quartz crisis and Japan were supposed to mark the death knell for mechanical watches. Those were tough times. Companies like Girard-Perregaux and Jaeger LeCoultre spent a few rough years making pens as well as instrument panels for car dashboards. Skilled watchmakers found themselves replacing batteries for a living. And then Jean Claude Biver came along. JCB had exceptional business acumen, saw the romance of the mechanical watch, and resurrected Blancpain (quite literally, buying the rights to the name and re-establishing the brand), as well as movement manufacturer F. Piguet (which Blancpain later aquired) shortly after the onslaught of the quartz crisis. After that, he breathed new life into struggling Hublot. Nowadays the likes of Dirk Dornblüth starts a small shop making attractive but unassuming, very good quality watches with original movements in Germany and find himself (and his son) within a few years hiring watchmakers and expanding offerings.
I'm no marketing expert, but I really don't think one can make the case that the industry is dying. Not yet. One day? Sure, I suppose, but many firms aren't ditching their entry-level offerings (many are retooling them). Is this a last gasp? Dunno. I watched watch prices increase >15% a year since 2000 and thought the whole thing would collapse upon itself. No such luck. Could it all go the way of high-end audio? That's one possibility. Are mechanical watches at all practical? No, certainly not. As accurate as digital devices? No, not even close.
But the death of watch making doesn't seem to be on the horizon any time soon. Far from it. Right now we are very much living in an horological renaissance.
You could be right but I am telling you what I see with younger 20 some folks around. They hardly wear watches.