The hottest Investment Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

What will 2024 bring?

Klement on Investing • 6 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Be cautious of historical comparisons in predicting the future of markets.
  2. Charts comparing past situations with present may not always be accurate or reliable.
  3. Rely on fundamental research and analysis rather than just comparing charts for investment decisions.

Issue #89: Mastercard Makes Moves In China, Wise Posts A Healthy H1 Result, And Adyen Launches A New Product In Australia

Fintech Radar • 6 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Wise reported impressive financial results for H1 2023 with quadrupled pre-tax profits, showing success in expanding beyond peer-to-peer money exchange.
  2. Adyen launched Capital in Australia, recognizing the growing demand for embedded financial services in platform businesses.
  3. Mastercard received approval for bankcard clearing in China, a big step to settle transactions directly and establish presence in the Chinese market.

The Case Against Corporate Stock Buybacks

Fish Food for Thought • 7 implied HN points • 09 Aug 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. Companies use excess cash for stock buybacks when they lack better investment opportunities within the company.
  2. Stock-based compensation dilutes shares held by investors, impacting the company's stock value.
  3. Excessive stock buybacks show a belief that there are limited internal investment prospects, potentially thwarting company growth.
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Iterative Prediction Markets

Abstraction • 7 HN points • 08 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Investment
  1. Short-term prediction markets offer faster resolutions and better interest rates than long-term markets.
  2. An iterative approach with annual markets can tackle the time value of money issue in long-term predictions.
  3. Automated creation of frequent short-term markets can provide real-time insights and address the time value of money problem effectively.

How to Assess a Job Offer with Equity

Concepts of Finance 🧠 • 1 HN point • 12 Nov 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Check the company's stage and investors to gauge equity value. Knowing if it's early stage or established can help you understand what your equity might really be worth.
  2. Understand the type of equity you're being offered, whether it’s stock options or RSUs. Each type has different rules and tax implications, so it's important to know what you're getting.
  3. Don't hesitate to negotiate your offer. Many people accept the first offer they get, but it's usually possible to get a better deal, especially for equity.

The Greek AI Ecosystem

The Greek Analyst • 1 HN point • 31 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Investment
  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an important topic globally, with Greece playing a significant role in the AI landscape.
  2. Despite its small size, Greece has a strong AI ecosystem with academics, researchers, and startups making notable contributions.
  3. Greece's AI industry is thriving, with a growing number of Greek-founded startups raising substantial funding and the country showing improvements in its economic and investment grade status.

Pitch Me: what Europe's largest climatetech VC fund is looking for

The Green Techpreneur • 4 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. Danijel Visevic started the World Fund, Europe's largest climatetech VC fund, with a unique approach to fundraising, focusing on building a strong portfolio and attracting investors by taking risks early.
  2. The World Fund invests in companies with significant Climate Performance Potential, aiming to save at least 100 megatons CO2 emissions annually.
  3. Danijel Visevic's investment style involves ESG support, expansive network connections for funding rounds, and a strategic focus on energy and agricultural sectors for climate impact.

Clients want to see you go back to your office

Fund Marketer • 3 implied HN points • 22 May 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. Clients prefer meeting face-to-face rather than just digital communication. They find personal connections make a big difference in their experience.
  2. There is a growing concern about the quality of online content due to AI. People are worried that much of what they see is just generic and not engaging.
  3. In the world of crypto investments, people care more about seeing prices go up than deep storytelling. Investors are often just looking for quick gains.

Flexport Shopify Join Forces - Term Sheet Digest

Termsheet by Attack Capital • 6 implied HN points • 23 May 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. Flexport acquired Shopify's logistics business and founder Ryan Peterson stepped back from day-to-day operations.
  2. Flexport, an $8 billion logistics giant, raised $2.4 billion in funding and aims to streamline global trade with technology.
  3. Despite challenges like fluctuating stock prices and slowing growth, Flexport remains a unique and influential player in the logistics industry.

A quiet week sheds light on the value of 'thought leadership'

Fund Marketer • 3 implied HN points • 10 Apr 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. Media coverage is really important for investment firms. Good press can lead to more money coming in, especially for smaller funds.
  2. Having a strong 'thought leader' in the media can boost a company's image and stock price. For example, Jamie Dimon's influence seems to have helped JP Morgan's stock rise significantly.
  3. Companies like Robinhood are starting their own media outlets to control their press coverage. This trend shows how important it is to own the narrative in finance.

Housing Can’t Be Affordable and an Investment

Good Reason • 3 HN points • 27 Feb 24
💰 Finance Investment
  1. US housing has become extremely expensive, with a median single family home selling for over $400K and prices rising more than 7% annually since 2012.
  2. If housing prices continue to rise at 7% annually, they'll nearly double in 10 years and nearly quadruple in 20 years, making homes unaffordable for many.
  3. Treating housing as an investment has consequences, creating an underclass unable to afford homes and pushing more people into debt, cramped living situations, and even homelessness.

Issue #79: Visa Gets In On Stablecoin Summer, Monzo Takes On Scam Callers, And ThetaRay Secures $57M To Fight Money Laundering

Fintech Radar • 4 implied HN points • 11 Sep 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Visa expands stablecoin settlement capabilities by partnering with merchant acquirers, facilitating instant payment authorizations.
  2. Temenos introduces a generative AI tool to automatically classify customer banking transactions, potentially revolutionizing banking processes.
  3. ThetaRay raises $57M for AI tools to fight money laundering, showcasing the increasing importance of compliance-focused startups in fintech.

Aswath Damodaran's Narrative and Numbers

Joe Tourville • 4 implied HN points • 31 May 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Investors often make the mistake of favoring either storytelling or data in corporate valuation instead of blending both.
  2. Compelling narratives can drive corporate value while numbers provide grounding and empirical evidence.
  3. Narrative-based valuation by Aswath Damodaran emphasizes the marriage of narratives and numbers for a more comprehensive view of a company's worth.

Regulation as a driver of investment risk

Klement on Investing • 1 implied HN point • 29 Oct 24
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Regulations can increase costs for businesses, affecting their profits. When companies have to spend more on compliance, their margins become thinner.
  2. Different industries face different levels of risk from regulations. For example, manufacturing has higher costs due to regulation compared to services.
  3. Investors should pay attention to companies with high regulatory risks since they can see bigger changes in their stock values. More regulation often means higher investment returns for those companies.

The Journey with General Catalyst

The Healthtech Initiative • 3 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. Stanford University's connection to Silicon Valley provides unique opportunities for students to engage with industry giants like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
  2. Nico Bonatsos' investment philosophy evolved from focusing on consumer-centric mobile products to backing technical founders creating products for themselves.
  3. Healthcare startups require deep industry knowledge and partnerships for success, as seen in the case of Livongo's approach to tackling chronic diseases.

Issue #99: Entrust Wants To Buy Onfido, MEPs Move To Make Euro Transactions Arrive In 10 Seconds, And JPMorgan Plans To Open 500 Branches

Fintech Radar • 2 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
💰 Finance Investment
  1. The acquisition of Onfido by Entrust indicates the evolving landscape of KYC beyond financial services, with the expansion of AI/ML-based verification technology to various sectors.
  2. JPMorgan's decision to open 500 new branches seems counterintuitive in a digital age; however, it presents a unique opportunity to invest in physical presence amidst industry trends of branch closures.
  3. MEPs implementing rules for Euro transfers to arrive within 10 seconds will likely stir industry activity to meet this requirement and may impact how charges are structured for instant transactions.

Unlock a Housing Boom through Depreciation Bonuses

Arpitrage • 2 HN points • 13 Feb 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. Investment taxes play a crucial role in addressing the housing crisis by impacting housing affordability.
  2. Tax laws in the 1980s, especially changes in depreciation schedules, significantly influenced commercial real estate production.
  3. Adjusting accounting rules, like shortening depreciation schedules or allowing full expensing, could encourage a construction boom and potentially reduce rents.

Why Credit Card Data still makes money

Magis • 2 HN points • 03 Feb 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. Credit card data remains valuable despite its availability because of the infrastructure and talent required to utilize it effectively.
  2. Having the computational resources and expertise to analyze consumer spending data gives larger firms an advantage over smaller firms.
  3. Success in leveraging consumer spending data depends on the rarity of talent that can understand and apply it effectively.

Ideas for Investment Managers

Magis • 3 HN points • 22 Apr 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. LLMs can potentially boost productivity for investment managers by automating tasks like creating Excel models and analyzing communication logs.
  2. Using tools like Gong to automate note-taking during Zoom calls can provide investment managers with valuable insights from meetings.
  3. Investment managers have the opportunity to leverage LLMs to extract structured datasets from unstructured data sources, enhancing their analytical capabilities.

Contracts Can Be Weird

Economic Forces • 2 implied HN points • 21 Sep 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. Contracts can have odd provisions that may not follow basic economic theories.
  2. Investments in specific areas can lead to complications in sharing benefits.
  3. Contracts may include solutions like first rights of refusal to address uncertainty in payoffs and market value.

Can You Avoid Overhiring?

How the Hell • 2 HN points • 14 Jul 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. There is a natural tendency for organizations to want to hire more people.
  2. Software companies can often grow and scale with fewer employees compared to traditional businesses.
  3. Predicting the impact of hiring more people in tech is challenging, but optimism can lead to unnecessary hires.

The Journey of Alistair Brownlee

The Healthtech Initiative • 2 implied HN points • 12 Jul 23
🎾 Sports Investment
  1. Alistair Brownlee emphasizes the importance of balance and variety in exercise routines for health and performance.
  2. Proper nutrition plays a crucial role in an athlete's health and fitness journey.
  3. Alistair Brownlee expands his influence beyond athletics, investing in health and fitness startups to foster a wider community engaged in physical fitness.

Neil Woodford launches an expensive new website

Fund Marketer • 1 implied HN point • 24 Apr 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. Neil Woodford has launched a new website that looks more professional than a simple blog. It's designed to provide economic insights and commentary.
  2. Creating consistent, high-quality content takes time and money. Maintaining this effort over time can be challenging for individuals or companies.
  3. There are different ways to succeed in content creation. Woodford might need to bring in help to keep up with the demands of running this new venture.

What you need to know about VC world as a founder

Build Startup In Public • 1 HN point • 13 Apr 24
💼 Business Investment
  1. There are different types of money that VCs use, and understanding them is important for founders. This knowledge can help you decide how to plan your funding.
  2. Convertible notes are a common way for startups to raise money and later convert that debt into equity. It’s essential to grasp how this affects your ownership.
  3. Valuation is a key aspect of raising funds. It's vital to keep your employees' expectations in mind, as they will look at the company's valuation as a sign of progress.

The Fate of Crypto Rises and Falls on One Legal Question

Vitarbi • 2 HN points • 30 Mar 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. The fate of cryptocurrency relies heavily on one legal question about whether certain digital assets should be considered securities under the Howey Test.
  2. The Howey Test is used to determine if a financial instrument is a security by assessing if there's an investment of money in a common enterprise expecting profits from others' efforts.
  3. Being labeled an unregistered security in the crypto industry can lead to severe consequences, including fines and damage to reputation.

Valuabl | Vol. 3, No. 4

Valuabl • 2 implied HN points • 17 Feb 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Higher interest rates can paradoxically cause higher inflation due to complex economic relationships.
  2. Jerome Powell, head of the Federal Reserve, faces challenges in using rate hikes to control inflation.
  3. Understanding the cost of capital is crucial for interpreting changes in stock and bond prices.

When to start your first fundraise?

Exponentially • 1 HN point • 03 Jul 23
💼 Business Investment
  1. Consider raising funds early to cover personal expenses, but it can distract from building the company.
  2. Wait to raise funds until you have made progress to get better terms from investors.
  3. Alternatives to traditional fundraising include joining an accelerator, or taking the 'indie hacker' approach by focusing on revenue.

Part 1: Deep dive writeup on Albemarle ($ALB)

Jonah’s Growth Stocks • 0 implied HN points • 12 Feb 23
💰 Finance Investment
  1. Albemarle (ALB) is a company expected to show strong revenue and earnings growth due to the increasing demand for lithium from the EV industry.
  2. ALB is considered undervalued, trading at a low multiple of earnings despite the positive growth projections.
  3. Analysts are cautious about ALB's future performance, but if EV adoption remains strong, the stock could outperform.