The hottest Financial Services Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Finance Topics

American Express, the Roach Motel

Life Since the Baby Boom • 1844 implied HN points • 15 Jul 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Financial Services
  1. It's often tricky to cancel subscriptions online, as companies make it complicated. People should be able to cancel with the same ease as they sign up.
  2. Companies like American Express can be difficult about cancellation, sometimes requiring phone calls. This can feel frustrating and unnecessary.
  3. Government agencies are working to make it easier for people to cancel subscriptions and accounts. Filing a complaint can help put pressure on companies to change their policies.

2024

THREE SEVEN MAFIA • 1139 implied HN points • 03 Jan 24
💼 Business Financial Services
  1. The author's account on Stripe was under scrutiny, affecting content production
  2. The issue was resolved after the author communicated directly with Stripe
  3. The author plans to expand to a new platform while continuing to post on Substack

❄️💖 380 ans d'utilité publique. Un coup de cœur.

Snowball • 471 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Learn about the Crédit Municipal de Paris, an institution with over 380 years of history providing various financial services.
  2. The Crédit Municipal offers services such as quick loans against valuable items, financial counseling, auctions, and ethical savings options.
  3. The institution aims to innovate and modernize its services, while maintaining a focus on social impact and financial empowerment.
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Second axiom of investing

Buggy Humans in a Messy World • 491 implied HN points • 04 May 23
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Stocks are businesses, and understanding their worth relative to price is crucial for investing.
  2. Shareholders are last in line to get paid, especially in high-leverage sectors like financial services.
  3. Valuation is risky in businesses where shareholders are at the bottom of the payment queue.

Networked Conviction 003

Investing 101 • 4 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Big, durable businesses often hide in plain sight — legacy financial firms, grungy enterprise software, and mineral-rights plays can be ‘sneaky giants’ with steady cash flows and entrenched advantages.
  2. The best opportunities come from noticing overlooked, messy sectors where scale and resilience aren’t obvious, and where small structural edges compound into big moats.
  3. Clear investment insights take time and reflection — ideas crystallize through board meetings, updated marks, and repeated conversations, so consistent journaling and revisiting thoughts matters.

The Distribution Layer

Lewis Enterprises • 235 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. The future of alternative investments is undergoing significant changes in the market structure with emphasis on investment managers, allocators, and capital owners.
  2. Traditional asset managers are seeking growth by entering alternative investments but are facing challenges due to massive capital deployment impacting returns.
  3. There's a trend towards greater intermediation of capital allocation in the alternative investment landscape, leading to a more specialized distribution approach.

Banker Wonderland

Net Interest • 14 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. M&A advisory is extremely lucrative, with firms and boutique bankers earning huge fees on big deals and the industry seeing record revenues and backlogs.
  2. The job is high‑pressure and time‑consuming, with bankers routinely working holidays and long hours to win and manage transactions.
  3. Pay is mostly success‑based—a percentage of deal value—so advisors do a lot of unpaid work hoping a few big wins will cover their costs, and appointments often hinge on personal relationships which can cause disputes.

GCash is coming to Axie and Ronin!

The Lunacian • 506 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Financial Services
  1. GCash partnership with Axie and Ronin aims to make crypto more accessible for Filipinos
  2. 80% of Filipino internet users rely on GCash, making it a significant financial platform in the country
  3. Collaboration with GCash will enhance user experience and provide a seamless pathway for engagement with Axie and Ronin

Payroll is Big Business

Equal Ventures • 59 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
💼 Business Financial Services
  1. Verticalized payroll offerings can provide industry-specific features and better service than horizontal players, creating additional monetizable opportunities.
  2. Industries with complex compensation structures, like real estate and insurance, are potential fits for vertical payroll models due to the unique payment systems.
  3. Traits that make a market ripe for a vertical payroll business vary, but complexity in payment structures and workforce dynamics are often attractive qualities.

Robinhood’s Smile

Net Interest • 12 implied HN points • 14 Feb 25
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Robinhood changed the investing game by making it easy and fun, allowing people to trade with no fees. They even added features like free stock for completing tasks to keep users engaged.
  2. After a boom during the meme-stock craze, Robinhood faced challenges as the market dropped, causing many users to lose money and stop trading. Despite this, they found a new way to earn money through higher interest rates.
  3. Now, Robinhood is at a point where they need to decide their future. They can keep focusing on trading like a game or expand into a wider range of financial services.

Welcoming MVMNT to the Equal Ventures Portfolio

Equal Ventures • 19 implied HN points • 05 Oct 22
💼 Business Financial Services
  1. Equal Ventures invested in MVMNT, a platform democratizing access to software for freight shippers and brokers
  2. They use a freemium model to address the low willingness of non-digitally native industry buyers to pay for software
  3. MVMNT monetizes through fintech products like QuickPay, insurance, and payments, making their offerings free to customers

Replicating Buffett

Net Interest • 13 implied HN points • 17 Jan 25
💼 Business Financial Services
  1. Warren Buffett took control of a struggling company, Berkshire Hathaway, after realizing its potential value despite its problems. He initially bought shares to gain influence.
  2. Buffett's experience with Berkshire taught him important lessons about organizational structure and the value of permanent capital for investments.
  3. Now, investors like Bill Ackman are trying to create companies similar to Berkshire Hathaway, but it's hard to replicate its successful model because it takes time and patience.

October Mixed Bag

Net Interest • 3 implied HN points • 25 Oct 24
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Compensation structures in firms can impact employee performance and morale. It's essential to find the right balance to keep people motivated.
  2. Understanding net interest income is important for assessing financial health. It reflects how well a company manages its income from loans and investments.
  3. Mixing insights from different financial areas can provide a broader perspective. This can help in making smarter decisions in finance and investments.

Software Can Only Eat So Much: A Look At 10 Industries (Part 1)

European Straits • 8 implied HN points • 12 Oct 23
💼 Business Financial Services
  1. The media industry has shifted from large organizations to connected individuals, democratizing content creation but also amplifying polarization.
  2. The music industry has transformed with technology but major labels still hold significant control over rights and revenue.
  3. Movies and TV industries face high production costs and competition, leading to a potential slowdown in new content creation and a convergence in look and content.

Affinity Marketing and the Latino American Fintech Opportunity

Chaos Engineering • 2 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
💼 Business Financial Services
  1. Affinity marketing involves targeting specific customer groups based on shared characteristics or interests.
  2. Hispanics in the US represent a large segment of the population, often working in labor-intensive jobs and having lower educational backgrounds and incomes.
  3. The Latino American fintech market presents an opportunity to provide financial services tailored to the needs of the Hispanic and Latino communities.

Market Meltdown

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 17 Sep 08
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. The stock market dropped significantly this week, with the S&P 500 down nearly 20% for the year, which is troubling but not yet disastrous.
  2. Financial companies have suffered the most from the market decline, while most other sectors are doing okay.
  3. Despite the market's fears and panic, the overall economy is still holding up well, except for the housing sector.

Future Finance

Decentralised • 0 implied HN points • 31 Jul 24
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Fintech is changing how we view and use money. It's not just about banks anymore; new tech is making finance more accessible.
  2. Understanding financial services can help us make smarter choices with our money. The more we know, the better we can manage our finances.
  3. Keeping up with trends in finance can lead to better opportunities. Whether it's investing or saving, being informed is key to financial success.

Why The Captured Economy Fails

nic thinks about things • 0 implied HN points • 22 May 23
💰 Finance Financial Services
  1. Nations fail due to extractive institutions and thrive with inclusive ones - a lesson from Why Nations Fail.
  2. The Captured Economy highlights how entities rig the economic game in their favor through rent-seeking tactics.
  3. Housing issues impact various aspects of life, from jobs to education, with solutions like land value tax and radical market reforms proposed.