Year to Date Performance of Certain Assets - Silver Takes the Lead

And a few mining funds for good measure.

The gold:silver ratio was just off the hook out of bounds before this latest silver rally. I was beginning to despair. lol

Year To Date Performance of Several Financial Investments

It is early days yet, but I was curious to see how several assets have been performing so far this year.

Even the precious metal miners are doing well this year.  But we must consider the absolute beating they took in 2013, and the overall depressed prices at which many of them are still trading.  I think the third chart tends to put the brutality of the correction in the precious metals during 2013 in perspective.

While volatility in investments can be thrilling on the upside, it is a kind of portfolio hell to the downside.  Live by beta, die by beta. 

Unless of course you have access to asymmetric knowledge, with an advantageous positioning at the market table, and can turn in almost perfect trading records over long periods of time. 

Still, this is a nice change of pace so far.

Year To Date Performance of a Few Select Stores of Wealth - And the Winner Is .... Silver

Here is the chart of the results for various stores of wealth Year to Date. And a second chart shows the results for the past three years.

As a side note, I do not include currency investments. The Swiss franc has been a spectacular performer, but like the metals it pays little or no interest. The average person loses money in currency arbitrage based on my own observation. They tend to overleverage, and panic at sharp moves. I have been fortunate in it, remarkably so, for which I am grateful. But that appears to be an exception.

The 10 Year Treasury does not include interest obtained for the 1/2 year. TNX was around 3.8 percent in January, so we can tack on about 1.9 percent interest bringing the total return on the Ten Year Treasury to about 5.9 percent.

Notice the variance of risk, that is, the deviation of a return from a steady trendline. This is why trading in and out is only for the professionals, and why some investment returns may be more 'risky' than others.

The swings in silver are particularly notable in the three year chart. It is a 'riskier investment.' Gold has had the steadier and more reliable returns.

So, one obviously should consider their time frames and risk tolerance when crafting their portfolio.

But one can sometimes find a fundamental trend, and if proven valid, then hold fast to it no matter what, until that fundamental trend changes in its character. It is especially effective if one has some specialized knowledge in that area, and some natural affinity to follow it as a complement to their chosen profession or intellectual inclinations.

That is the way to the growth and the preservation of wealth. Charts are useful for testing and validating, a sort of a roadmap that sorts facts from fiction, and for the selection of entry and exit points.

But a trend based on well-reasoned fundamentals is the thing.

Year To Date Performance of US Stocks, Bonds, Gold, Silver and US Dollars

For the US Bond I used the TLT 20+ Year US Note Fund