The 🐿️'s BUSHY™ Portfolio x Plutus
The Blind Squirrel Macro flagship beta portfolio - designed to be the antidote to the classic '60/40' retirement portfolio - can now be accessed on Interactive Brokers via Plutus.
The 🐿️’s BUSHY™ Portfolio x Plutus
I am delighted to announce that Blind Squirrel Macro’s BUSHY™ beta portfolio is now available through Plutus, an SEC-registered investment advisor.
By connecting your Interactive Brokers brokerage account to Plutus, the BUSHY™ portfolio is automatically replicated in your own account in real time, with no manual trading required at your end.
This is open to anyone who meets Plutus’ eligibility requirements - whether you have a Blind Squirrel Macro subscription or not.
Background on Plutus and How it Works
Plutus is, in our view, the only platform that allows investors to replicate research driven securities portfolios within their own brokerage account (the assets never leave your custody). The execution is reliable, and the team has carefully thought through every aspect of the experience.
I highly recommend watching Plutus Founder and CEO Shashank Chiranewala’s conversation with Max Wiethe on The Monetary Matters Network.
How It Works
Simple connection through Interactive Brokers - if your legal address is in one of these jurisdictions
Minimum allocation to Plutus (does not all have to be in BUSHY™) of US$40k. This can be within a dedicated linked account with you retaining control of your main trading account (for Acorns)
Flat fee: just an annual 1% of AUM. No performance fee. Not lock-ups.
Check out the detailed FAQ on the Plutus website: www.runplutus.com
Blind Squirrel Macro acts solely as a research and model portfolio provider under a data licensing agreement with Plutus, with no access to client identities, financial information, or personal data. For Plutus users, investment advice is provided by Namsoft Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.
Blind Squirrel Macro is compensated for making model portfolios available on the platform. Any questions should be directed to Namsoft Advisors, LLC. We do not provide financial or investment advice, and this announcement should categorically not be interpreted as an endorsement or recommendation.
Background to the🐿️'s BUSHY™ Portfolio
Outsource the core beta element of your investment portfolio - handle the alpha yourself
I first started publishing BUSHY™ to Blind Squirrel Macro subscribers in January 2025. The goal of the portfolio is to be a low-turnover investment strategy that targets long-term capital appreciation , low volatility and a minimized drawdown profile.
It is the antidote to the classic ‘60/40’ or ‘Target Date’ retirement portfolio. BUSHY™ invests globally across all major asset classes (equities, fixed income and commodities) primarily via listed ETFs and closed-end funds.
The portfolio is primarily long-only but will occasionally employ long-short ETF pairs and manage tail risks with simple listed option strategies.
As you can see from the pie chart below, BUSHY™’s asset allocation does not look like most conventional retirement portfolios.
Please note: there are some minor differences between BUSHY™ on Plutus and the portfolio that I have been publishing for the past 18 months.
There are certain products - such as ex-US ETFs/ETNs and certain derivative macro products - that Plutus is currently unable to support. I am also phasing out products which attract K-1 tax forms (BUSHY™ will contain BNO for now as there is no suitable - Brent-based, no K-1 - replacement currently available).
I will highlight these differences going forward.
You may notice that there is an ‘obvious’ asset from the pie chart above. The 🐿️ is not a fan of long duration fixed income. My gripe with bonds is not some kind of doomerish fever dream about budget deficits or the solvency of the US government (although I am concerned about long-term inflation risks and the potential for financial repression).
My antipathy towards bonds is grounded in the fact that I do not expect them to provide the portfolio diversification benefits that they offered in that relatively brief window of market history between 2000 and 2022.
I first introduced this theme in my research in September 2023 in ‘The '60/40' Portfolio doesn't work anymore. The Murdoch Effect.’. That was the 🐿️’s ‘no more bonds’ moment.
This begs the obvious question. What to replace them with as diversification ‘ballast’ for the portfolio?
The Bond Replacement Tools
The non-Treasury components of the BUSHY™ portfolio are based around the following 5 ingredients:
Trend / Managed Futures. The 🐿️ has been ‘trend curious’ for many years. I frequently owned Trend (and Trend ‘replication’) ETFs as a way of ‘keeping a close eye on’ CTA positioning (rather than take the Wall Street quants’ word for how they were positioned!). However, since early 2024, this rodent has fully embraced trend as a true portfolio diversifier. The entrance to the 🐿️’s trend following journey can be found in ‘Handing some cash to the robots’. We even diversify the diversifiers!
Cash and T-Bills. In a non-ZIRP world, cash no longer ‘burns a hole in your pocket. Cash is the ultimate optionality for when asset bargains eventually emerge. Having liquidity when risk assets are on sale can be meaningfully more valuable than picking up a capital gain on your long bonds with a risk off event.
EM Local Currency Fixed Income. The thesis here is pretty straightforward: In general, emerging market central bankers do a vastly superior job when it comes to managing domestic inflation (they frankly have no choice if they want to protect their currencies). As such attractive real rates can be found throughout EM.
Gold and Physical Commodities. This allocation probably does not require a great deal of explanation for most readers (except to those of you that think it should be higher!).
Tactical Treasury Tools. One of the most exciting developments in ETF technology has been the ability of providers to embed ‘institutional grade’ fixed income derivative exposure within a liquid, listed vehicle for retail investors.
BUSHY™’s Equity Component
The equity allocations within the BUSHY™ portfolio are where the 🐿️ truly deviates from ‘Big Retirement’ consensus. I divide the equity allocation into 3 buckets: Broad-based US Equity, International Equity and Equity Sector themes.
Note that there will also be long and short exposure to equity indices within the trend/ managed futures allocation. I will be monitoring their exposures for overall risk management but leaving the decision making to those robots that trade price rather than narrative.
Note on Timing
Irony is not lost on the 🐿️ that the timing of BUSHY™’s launch on Plutus is at the time of the portfolio’s largest drawdown (from high water mark) since public launch last year. Long-term subscribers will know that this still leaves BUSHY™ only marginally behind the S&P 500 since inception (yet with only half of the realized volatility).
If you act on anything provided in this newsletter, you agree to the terms in this disclaimer. Everything in this newsletter is for educational and entertainment purposes only and NOT investment advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an offer to sell or to buy any security. The author is not responsible for any financial loss you may incur by acting on any information provided in this newsletter. Before making any investment decisions, talk to a financial advisor.