AGOR A

financial

JIM RICKARDS’

str ategic intelligence Making the Complex Simple

Off-the-Grid Millionaire: How to Build

a $1.1 Million Portable Portfolio
“I found diamonds sewed into the seams of shirts. That’s when elites—from the IMF, World Bank, the Federal
But everyone in my family was killed. I don’t Reserve and other globalist organizations—will freeze the
even have a picture to remember them by.” world financial system in the—Ice-9 scenario.
— Raymond Fisher, Jewish WWII Survivor Ice-9 will distinguish the next great financial collapse from
all prior collapses. And this event could hit at any time.
A Portfolio for Extreme Conditions
When civil order breaks down, so do property rights. That’s why the time to prepare is now, before it hits.

During riots, looting and other forms of unrest, might A New Kind of “Survival” Portfolio that
often makes right. That’s especially true when it comes
to official “confiscation” of assets. Could Generate Enormous Returns
During WWII, the German officials made a special point to To protect your assets from both government seizure and
both tax Jews punitively and also to confiscate their wealth civil unrest, we’ve created the Portable Portfolio.
systematically. That came to include every scrap of wealth
they had, right down to their gold teeth in some cases. It can help you:

Fourteen-year-old concentration camp prisoner Raymond 1. Secure up to $1 million in wealth inside a hollow
Fisher’s entire job, for example, was to search the clothing “soda can” safe (more on this in a moment)
of executed prisoners. There he found diamonds, jewelry
and other valuables sewn into compartments in the bottom 2. Provide you with liquidity and spendable wealth
of coat pockets, socks and hats. for any immediate needs in the aftermath of Ice-9

Fisher survived to tell his story and it serves as a dark 3. Provide some amount of diversification, to spread risk
reminder not only of governments’ tendency toward total-
itarianism, but also of the need for individuals to transact 4. Give you possible investment upside as events unfold
under extreme conditions.
5. Ensure that you maintain wealth — regardless of
Of course, there is no more extreme example of such external conditions
conditions than World War II Germany. But what if a to-
talitarian government were to take hold, say, in America? Of course, the amount of wealth you store in your porta-
What if elements within that government were able to seize ble portfolio is entirely up to you.
your bank account… your checking account, your IRA or
401(k), even your stock brokerage account? But having some of your assets secured —and “off the
grid” now —will mean you’re prepared for whatever
What if civil disorder came home, here, in the United
comes next.
States? And what if the elites’ response to that disorder was
a program of complete asset seizures across the board? We’ll take a closer look at the portfolio and how the
Sadly, those conditions could take hold when the next assets break down in a second. But first, let’s talk about
major financial crisis hits. where you’ll store your wealth…
w w w. ag or a fi n a nci a l .com
 off-the-grid millionaire

A Primer on “Diversion Safes” thief’s attention. Simply choose the right one for you and
get started.
First, you need to choose a container. This sounds unusual
— and it is. That’s the point. This portfolio isn’t designed So how can you fit over $1 million inside a soda-can safe?
for normal conditions. We’ve designed it for the extreme
conditions we’re likely to see during a massive failure of Let’s take a look at the portfolio breakdown. We struc-
our financial — and possibly political — system. tured this portfolio into two main categories: liquid and
store-of-value.
Of course, you could choose just about anything to contain
The liquid portion is meant to give you flexibility and
your portable portfolio.
freedom in the short term. The store-of-value allocation
But I’ve designed the portfolio to fit inside of a 12-ounce is meant as a longer-term repository of wealth. As time
soda can. passes, you can arrange to exchange illiquid assets for
liquid assets, according to your needs.
In particular, it will fit inside a soda-can safe, which you
can purchase for less than $20 from several online sources. We’ve included a percentage with each type of asset. This
percentage is the amount of your Portable Portfolio we sug-
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about, the Can Safe: gest you put into that asset (for example: 1% of $1.1 million
would be $11,000). Please keep in mind that the Portable
Portfolio is not meant to replace your regular portfolio —
this is a portfolio designed for very extreme circumstances.

Liquid Asset #1: Cash (1% / $11,000)

This might sound counterintuitive. But cash in the form
of U.S. dollars will remain fungible and in use, at least
during the early stages of the Ice-9 crisis.

Remember, when the next collapse hits, we’ll adjust our

portfolio, strategy and tactics as new information comes
online. But at the outset, we recommend holding at least
some cash.

In this case, $11,000 in $100 bills is a good place to start.

That’s one option, but there are countless others. You can That stack will be approximately 0.47 inches high. When
find them in the form of hollowed-out books, kitchen cleans- rolled up, it will consume a large portion of your diversion
ers, D-batteries, surge protectors… the list goes on and on. safe. But it will also provide some measure of security dur-
ing the early stages of Ice-9.
For example, there’s the GunVault NV300 Nanovault,
seen here: At some point, Washington could ban the use of physi-
cal money. This would merely follow the cash-ban trend
we’ve seen erupting in places such as Scandinavia, India
and Venezuela.

But for now, cash remains an important asset.

Liquid Asset #2: Gold (1.5% / $16,500)

Gold has proven the ultimate calamity-proof investment
through the centuries. It never loses its fungible quality.
It never loses its luster. And it never loses its universal
appeal as “real” money.
Considering the constraints of our $1 million portfolio,
there’s not much space for gold. By our standards, gold’s not
They’re called “diversion safes” — because they’re nearly valuable enough (on a volume basis) to take up much
designed to look like thing that don’t merit a would-be room. So we’re looking at gold mainly for its spendability.
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 off-the-grid millionaire

In this case, I’m recommending a mixture of gold bullion

in sizes ranging from 1 gram to 5 grams. A 1-gram bar of
gold is typically around half-an-inch tall, and just 1/15th
of an inch thick. Here’s an example from the PAMP mint
in Switzerland:

½”

According to FDR, the economy was being held back by

citizens hoarding their money instead of spending it. And
That will take up plenty of space, but forming four stacks their primary choice as a store of value was gold. So what
approximately five inches tall would provide you with do the elites do when they want you to spend your wealth?
400 bars of pure gold — worth a little under $50 per bar They penalize savers and try to force people to spend.
at today’s prices. As tangle-asset expert J. Kent Willis writes:
That means your gold allocation will be worth some “Our Government made it illegal to do one of the only
$16,500 from the start. things that would have guaranteed economic survival for
Since my intelligence indicates a likely spike in gold pric- American citizens wise enough to save a portion of their
es to between $9,000 and $10,000 per ounce, the capital wealth in gold during one of the darkest economic chapters
gains potential here is great — should extreme conditions in our history. Keeping gold would have immediately al-
break out. most doubled their purchasing power at a time when they
would have needed it most. Franklin Roosevelt blew out
The value of these bars will likely soar 500% to 1,000% the only candle available to ordinary citizens struggling
higher very quickly in an Ice-9 cash freeze. woefully in the dark days of the depression.”
In addition, I’ve chosen the size for easy spendability. If you But here’s something interesting that history has taught
need gasoline, the ATM’s not working… and the guy with us. The government can outlaw the ownership of gold
the gas isn’t taking outlawed cash anymore… he will take a bullion, and has.
bar of pure gold.
But it has never outlawed owning gold in all forms…
Again, the possibility of seeing such conditions seems just bullion.
remote. But they are coming, in some form or another.
That means billions of dollars’ worth of gold circulated
Store-of-Value Asset #1: during the entirety of FDR’s gold-ownership ban.
Jewelry (50% / $550,000) Citizens merely owned the gold in jewelry form.
Remember the story of Raymond Fisher, who became inti-
That’s why I’m also recommending putting jewelry in
mately familiar with the value of jewelry as a portable asset.
your Portable Portfolio.
Jewelry has many advantages during periods of asset seizures,
chaos and civil unrest. In this case, we’re recommending three primary types
of jewelry:
For example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlawed
the possession of gold bullion by private citizens. He did 1. Rings featuring very valuable gemstones, including
it via Executive Order 6102 on April 5, 1933. white diamonds, colored diamonds and emeralds.
In addition, you can look for rings featuring ex-
FDR’s reason was very simple, and we’re likely to hear tremely rare gemstones, such as taaffeite, which
versions of it again in the coming days. sometimes sell for up to $35,000 per carat
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 off-the-grid millionaire

2. E
 arrings featuring the same value-added gemstones In fact, for this portfolio, white diamonds are an excellent
store of large amounts of value in the tiniest of spaces.
3. N
 ecklaces where most of the volume and value is
in the gemstones That’s why they get their own category.

Choosing these pieces comes down to size and discretion, Store-of-Value Asset #2: Loose White
which is why we’re emphasizing gemstones over the metals
Diamonds (47.5% / $522,500)
in jewelry.
Before we go further, we want to make something very clear.
Measured in terms of value-by-volume, gold takes up a
ton of room compared to expensive gemstones. Jewelry Under normal circumstances, Strategic Intelligence does
pieces with highly valuable gemstones are favored for our not typically recommend diamonds for average investors.
Portable Portfolio for their ability to concentrate wealth The main reason: there are too many ways to lose your
into very small spaces. shirt with diamond investing.

One more consideration. When selecting jewelry items Some of the problems with diamonds as an investment
for extreme conditions, we recommend a blend of gem- include:
stone sizes. • Difficulty in ensuring weight and quality (grade/purity)
Smaller stones can easily be removed and used as large- • Storage security
denomination money. Larger stones can store exponentially
more value. Having a blend of both is ideal. • Illiquidity

For example, this stunning Auriya engagement ring features • Inconsistent pricing/valuation
a 19-carat yellow diamond. But it also features 100-plus
These dangers remain today, despite growing investor
smaller white diamonds (total weight of about 3.5 carats).
interest in diamonds as an asset class in themselves.
The price tag: $500,000 on Overstock.com.
As Fortune reported not long ago:

Investors are setting their sights on another precious ma-

terial: diamonds. Excitement has been building in recent
months around the potential of diamonds to become a
veritable asset class for the first time.

The rising popularity of diamonds as an investment has

improved conditions for individual investors.

Perhaps the main improvement is price transparency. Much

of the credit for this is due to Rapaport Diamond Report.

At www.diamonds.net it lists updated diamond prices

weekly. The price list is a paid product, but pricing infor-
mation is readily available. Still, the information can be a
bit inscrutable — full of inside lingo — so putting together
Depending on the circumstances, the tiny diamonds could
a proper diamond “portfolio” will take some time and
prove even more valuable than the yellow diamond.
effort to do it right.
Why?
That’s one reason we tend to steer clear of them when it
First, nearly everyone has an understanding of a white comes to official Strategic Intelligence recommendations.
diamond’s value. If you intend to invest in diamonds, you should find a
local expert that you trust who can help you determine
That means they’ll be easier to exchange for goods and which diamonds merit your investment.
services in an emergency.
But we can help get you started with some pointers,
Second, they’re easier to divvy up — which makes them starting with a basic review of the Four Cs: Carat, Color,
more “monetary” than the larger stone. Clarity and Cut.
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 off-the-grid millionaire

its top to be reflected and dispersed back through its top.

When a stone is cut too shallow or too deep, the light that
enters through the top is allowed to escape through the
diamond’s bottom. In other words, it doesn’t “shine” as well
as it should. Cut rankings range from excellent to poor.
This is a very simple overview of the 4 C’s, and you need
to talk to a local expert to help you identify and chose
quality diamonds if you choose to invest.
Martin Rapaport is one of the leading diamond experts on
Earth right now. He’s the founder of the Rapaport Group,
host of the Rapaport International Diamond Conference
in NYC each year… the list goes on. Rapaport has brought
a great deal of transparency and legitimacy to the dia-
mond market.
Carat. Most people are familiar with this. Carat is simply a
So we’ll stick with his guidelines for investing in loose
measurement of weight. As the carat weight of a diamond
increases, so does its rarity and therefore its price. However, diamonds.
since we are interested in diamonds that can be resold in The Rapaport Group recommends initial investments
a crisis, we recommend sticking between around the 1- to in Round, 1.01 to 1.49 carat, D-H color, IF-VS2 clarity,
1.5-carat range. Excellent to Very Good Cut diamonds. These diamonds
Color. The best color for a diamond is no color at all. trade on a daily basis, their prices are well known and
A totally colorless diamond allows light to pass through they are easy to purchase and sell.
it easily, resulting in the light being dispersed as the color For our Portable Portfolio, you could buy more of the
of the rainbow. Colors are graded totally colorless to light 1 to 1.49 carat diamonds of this description, or slightly
yellow. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grades bigger 1.5 carat diamonds. Right now, a 1.5-carat loose
diamonds on a scale of D (colorless) through Z (light color). diamond of this grading description can sell for about
All D-Z diamonds are considered white, even though they $10,000. This means you’d need about 50 to reach a value of
contain varying degrees of color. The differences from one $500,000.
grade to the other are very subtle, and it takes a trained eye
and years of experience to color grade a diamond. Together with the other liquid and store-of-value assets
we’ve recommended, that puts around $1.1 million in the
Clarity. The clarity of a diamond is determined by the portable portfolio. And it should all fit in something the
amount and location of flaws, or blemishes, in the diamond
size of a soda can.
when viewed under 10 power (10x) magnification. Most
diamonds contain very tiny flaws known as inclusions. Keep in mind, the Portable Portfolio is not a replacement
An inclusion can interfere with the light passing through for your stocks and other holdings. It is meant to protect
the diamond. The fewer the inclusions, the more beautiful and provide for you in an extreme situation. If you decide
the diamond will be. Flawless is the highest grade of clarity. to take advantage of it, find an expert you can trust to work
Then there are very, very slightly included (VVSI, VVS2), with you through the store-of-value elements, especially the
and very slightly included (VS1, VS2). The 1 and 2 mark, loose diamonds.
respectively, whether the flaws are in the bottom-half of the
diamond, the pavilion, or the top-half, the crown. The flaws In the meantime, you can expect investment ideas and
of a VS1 or VS2 diamond may be visible to an expert, but recommendations for your regular portfolio in upcoming
distinction between a Flawless or VVS1 or VVS2 diamond will issues of Rickards’ Strategic Intelligence. We’ll make sure
not visible without magnification, which is why you will need you have all the information you need to protect your
an expert to guide you through your selection. wealth and profit from the troubles we expect in the days
and weeks ahead.
Cut. This stands for the proportions of the diamond as
opposed to its shape. We’re not talking about round versus All the Best,
princess cut. Every diamond, regardless of its shape, gets
its brilliancy by cutting and polishing the diamond facets
to allow the maximum amount of light that enters through Jim Rickards
5
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