Grow your investment boutique 📈 Founder / CEO @ Havener ⭐ $30B AUM for boutiques w/ The Billion Dollar Blueprint™ 💲 Story-led sales & marketing for founders, fund mgrs, and teams 🎤 Speaker ▪ Podcast Host

Hi, I’m Stacy - a blue-collar girl from the Berkshires who turned a way with words and love of numbers into a business that has raised billions for boutique asset managers.
 
I’ve raised $8B+ for new/undiscovered funds that led to $30B+ in follow-on AUM.

Being a female founder in the male-dominated investment industry at the age of 30 required a huge leap of faith in connecting two tribes: talented boutique asset managers and early adopter investors.

The leap of faith was spot on. 

10+ years later, Havener Capital Partners leads the industry in helping investment boutiques grow. We help clients in three ways: (1) Embedded as part of your sales and marketing team (2) Consulting on sales and marketing efforts with you (3) Coaching you and your team in our membership community

Whether it’s consulting and masterminds, expanding sales and marketing capabilities, or connecting to our network of RIAs and family offices, clients benefit from an expert team and a time-tested framework that has raised billions for boutiques.

If I can be of assistance, please reach out at stacy@havenercapital.com

A little more about me: 

I’m obsessed with all things old school – hip-hop music, classic cars, craft cocktails and vintage furniture. My best lessons in life were learned on the soccer field where I went from picking flowers at the age of 9, to playing on all-boy teams, to becoming an Academic All-American in college. 

Most days you will find me at our office in the city-by-the sea, Newport, RI, sitting next to my reggae-loving husband (who is also my business partner), with a Dunkin Donuts coffee in my hand, and our rescue pitbull at my feet. In addition to building a business together, Erik and I are raising a daughter which is by far my favorite adventure. 

At the heart of it all, there is one thing I believe in – underdogs. Doesn’t matter who we are or what industry we are in, we all start from the bottom; we have all been underdogs. This rebel spirit fuels me every day.

Stacy Havener

I closed more deals when I stopped trying. 


Don't get me wrong, I worked my tail off to help clients raise money. 

But I had to unlearn a deeply ingrained thing for many of us. 

Let's back up. 

People do business with people they
know
like
and trust

That part we all know.

But there is a danger here 👇

The "liking" principle (from Robert Cialdini)
isn’t about being liked by everyone.

That’s where it goes sideways.

Because when “liking” turns into people-pleasing, a few things happen:

We soften our edges

We dilute our point of view

We spew data and stats like a firehouse 

We aim for approval instead of alignment

And ironically…

That makes us less influential.

Real liking comes from clarity.
From conviction
From standing for something
(and not for everything)

It's from the heart, not the head.
(which is where stories shine)

In our work, we see this all the time:

The most trusted leaders aren’t universally liked

They’re distinctly remembered

They repel a little

And resonate a lot

(gah I love that ❤️ putting it on a post it on my laptop)

That’s how trust is built.
That’s how influence compounds.

🎥 In this video, I unpack how to use the liking principle
without losing your backbone.

Because the goal isn’t to be liked by everyone.
It’s to be unforgettable to the right ones.

📌 "This is me" - can that be a vibe for us this year?

Work travel looks glam, but it's a grind. I coped in 1 way v non glam way. 

(There are lessons I am revisiting in 2026 here.)

When I traveled my face off for work, I cooked my face off too. 😂

-- Before trips, to ground myself.

-- After trips, to come back into my body.

Here’s the tell my family learned to watch for:

The higher my stress, the more serious the cooking.

(sooo I was a pressure cooker. eye roll, drum beat 🤣)

If a whole chicken was roasting at 7am, a big trip was coming and I was dreading it.

When I got off the road, I set the cooking utensils down. 
The recipe books went back on the shelf. 
The stove cooled off.

Dusting it all off this year.

I grew up in an Italian family.

Food was never just food.

It's connection and belonging.

Garlic and onions sautéing in olive oil isn’t just a smell to me.

It’s a memory track of my life.

For the last few years cooking became practical.

Weeknight dinners.
Holiday cook fests only.

Until yesterday.

As we welcomed a long weekend and falling snow, I made one of my Italian grandfather’s recipes.

My favorite dish as a kid: Pasta Fagioli. 

I spent 45 minutes in silence chopping the battuto.

Just rhythm.
Texture.
Smell.

One bite of the pasta fagioli and I was back in my grandparents’ house.

Every comforting memory came back.

(It felt like the magical realism of the book/movie Like Water for Chocolate one taste, all the feelings.) 

Here’s the lesson I am carrying into the year ahead:

We live in our heads all week.

Strategy
Pressure
Problem-solving

*Thinking* our way through everything.

But there are five other senses available to us.

Touch
Smell
Taste
Sound
Sight

When we tap into them, we access parts of our creativity that thinking alone can’t reach.

Sometimes the reset we need isn’t another insight.

It’s a knife
A cutting board
And garlic hitting warm olive oil

It's getting out of our heads so when we come back into them, we are rejuvenated and fresh. 

📌 What dish takes you back to childhood?? (I will put my grandfathers Pasta Fagioli recipe below)

Happy weekend.
Stay storied. 

PS This is what chatgpt thinks I'd look like cooking in an Italian kitchen. Sign me up!

7 days, 20 foot ceilings, and big dreams.


Come inside the mansion we rented for our annual leadership meetings! 

The places, spaces, and settings matter in our stories. 

What would happen if you changed up where you are as you plan for where you are going...

A behind the scenes look at Havener's home base for strategic planning with a mansion walk and talk. 🏰

👉 Have you had this experience where place changed your perspective? Tell me more! 🍿

Here's to a new year, big dreams, and a bright future. Let's go!

I built my biz for the underdogs.

And if I’m honest… I still feel like one.

That identity runs deep.

I’ve always been wired to:

-- Fight for the overlooked

-- Bet on the underestimated

-- Stand for the people others ignore


I take pride in that.

My purpose is there.

But here’s the question I’ve been sitting with lately:

Can I stop being the underdog
and still stand for them?  

Can I serve challenger brands and founders while owning my achievements and success?

Can I acknowledge there's more I want to do and achieve without entirely discounting what I have accomplished?

---

Because at some point, there's a shift.

One day you realize:

-- People reference my work before I enter the room

-- The rooms I once fought to get into now invite me in

-- The voice I worked so hard to claim now carries weight

And still…

My nervous system hasn’t caught up.

---

I spent so many years scrapping.

Proving I belonged

Fighting to be taken seriously

Climbing toward success

That kind of fight is hard to turn off.

Even when my own personal fight has changed.

---

Here’s the tension I’m holding:

If I keep saying I am an underdog

If I stay in permanent resistance mode

If I never acknowledge my success


What message am I actually sending?

---

Maybe standing for the underdogs doesn’t mean staying one.

Maybe acknowledging progress doesn’t make me arrogant, it makes the path visible.

Maybe saying “this worked” gives the next generation of challengers something powerful:

Hope.
Positivity.
Proof.

---

So I’m learning a new posture.

Keep the heart of the challenger

Lose the need to bleed for legitimacy

Lead from consistent confidence instead of constant fight

(gah. that need to bleed for legitimacy is hiiiiiitting me 😭 )

---

I am not abandoning the underdogs.

I am showing them what’s possible.

And I’m learning that sometimes the bravest move isn’t to keep finding my fight 

It’s embracing my success to help the next generation fight theirs

---

If you’re a founder who grew up scrappy
and strugglednto let that scrappy go…

You’re not alone.

I’m right here too.

Scrappy and successful. Can they co-exist?

I believe in the power of LinkedIn. And the power of personal brand for finance peeps. If you do too, you need to meet this gal. 

If you are a client of Havener, or you work here, or you're a London friend who attended our LinkedIn for Fin breakfast event last year, then you already know Anna Robinson and you also know... she is a force 

Few fun facts to go with this flowers post (plus a give for you): 

--Anna and I met 25 years ago on the soccer field in San Diego. We've been bests ever since. ⚽

-- Before Anna joined Havener, she was a project manager at a software engineering firm, and a lead stylist at StitchFix. She also has a psych degree. So she can crush a to-do list while analyzing you and your wardrobe simul. (Trust me when I say this is an invaluable combination. 🤣)

-- Anna built my personal brand from scratch. She was a better me than me. Especially because she was brave when I couldn't be. I wouldn't have trusted anyone else. I am forever grateful. 

And now the give for you:

-- Anna and one of my other faves Mary Mack hosted a webinar in December on LinkedIn for Fund Managers that had over 250 attendees. 

-- It's now available on demand for you for no exchange of dollar bills. 

(We live our core value of GoGiver at Havener)

So if you are like me and have a differentiated point of view, and you believe LinkedIn is powerful, and you're intimidated even a little bit - grab this masterclass. 

https://lnkd.in/eg4MQeys

Put your trust in Anna. 

She won't let you down... on the soccer field, on social platforms, or in life. 

Flowers and so much love to you Anna
🙌💐♥️

👉 Who wants more of this? 

2026 is your year. Step out of the shadows my friends and lean in to LinkedIn

undefined undefined

Newsletter

📌 Got the investment skills, but need marketing help? We've got you.
Email Dustin Sullivan 
dustin (at) havenercapital (dot) com



Client Acq

havenercapital

billion-dollar-backstory

4 fact sheet changes that get more meetings

Fact sheets / tear sheets are doing too much… and somehow not enough.

They’re packed with data.
Light on words.
Heavy on brain.
Empty on heart.

And that’s the miss.

Typical fact sheets are a data dump in the smallest imaginable font.
Flip the script: It’s a highlight reel.

Its job with prospects is simple:

👉 Make them want a meeting.

Here are four fixes to move the needle:

---

1. Include real uniques + differentiators

Not the eye roll "everyone says that" kind

“Strong risk-adjusted returns”
“Experienced team”
“Disciplined process”

Let’s be honest, that’s table stakes. 
Fails the truism test.

The real differentiators tend to live in:

• Philosophy - how you think
• Process - how you execute
• Portfolio - how you build

Those are harder to copy.

And far more sustainable than performance soundbites.

---

2. Add a narrative summary

What’s the story?

• Why this strategy
• Why now
• And most importantly, why you

If allocators can’t understand the why in 90 seconds, they probs won't take a meeting.

Story creates intrigue and curiosity.
Data supports and makes it real

---

3. Be explicit about the role in the portfolio

This one gets mislabeled as “too retail.”

It’s not.

It’s useful.

Think of it as:

• Idea generation for analysts
• Context for non-investment stakeholders
• Clarity for busy humans

Don’t make people do the work.
They’re already overloaded.

That’s not retail.
That’s real life.

---

4. Show the people behind the product

Yes include fund mgrs on the fact sheet.
Now, add photos.

Names + faces + something human beyond alma maters.

People do business with people.
Still true. Always will be.

Pro-tip: If your photo makes you look like Severus Snape, time for a new one. Let's not scare the prospects. 😬

---

These small tweaks to a fact sheet don’t dumb anything down. 

Less data isn't a sign you aren't smart.
It's a sign you understand decision are more than numbers.

Fact sheets get a bad rap. 
But I think they have a starring role with a prospect.

They answer so what? Why should anyone care?

And when your fact sheet does that?

You don’t just get more meetings.
You get better ones.

📌 What's your 1 add for a fact sheet improvement list?

=
+ Fact sheets are part of a foundational franework at Havener, Investable Content™️ 

+ Bc collateral shouldn't just look pretty, it should play a role in your distribtiion

Every company is a media company. (imma keep saying it bc I want you to hearmenow) (and also flowers 💐)

Very few firms in finance embrace this idea that 'every company is a media company.'

Potomac is one. And they don't just kinda do the thang. They go all in.

Here's what hit me on my visit to their office:

1.  A bada$$ recording studio might feel like a luxury, but I'd argue at some point in the future, it might not be a luxury as much as a necessity.

2.  The trick with "every company is a media company" has less to do with the logo on the wall and more to do with the people who bring that logo to life. 

3.  I might invite myself back to "my" studio in "their" office v v soon. 🤣

Wouldn't it be cool if Billion $ Backstory became "in studio" podcast on the Potomac platform?

(Whaa? Who said that? me looking left looking right 😉)

If you want to catch the whole podcast - go to the platform that starts with You and ends with Tube. And I'll pop a shortcut in here asap.
https://lnkd.in/e_2VwDGe

Flowers and hugs and high fives across the miles to some of my all time faves
Manish Khatta and Christopher Norton and Charlotte Jarvis 

Thank you for being awesome 💐

If you don't know, now you know.
If you don't follow them, you should.

1 mistake I have made in sales & marketing (and how we can learn from it)

This mistake happens to asset management and wealth management clients too. 

It sneaks up on you. It happens slowly over time. (kind of like a big snowstorm 😂)

The mistake?

*Crafting messaging around what your client needs and skipping what they want.*

Our prospects are at Point A and they want to get to Point B. We know what they need and often that's what we "sell."

Let's take wealth managers:

Their prospects aren't jazzed to get a financial plan. No one wants more documents. (even if that's what they need)

They are jazzed for the financial freedom that plan will create. 
Or the second home they can buy
Or the business they can finally start
(insert the end goal that they want)

---

Talking about what a client needs isn't as hard-hitting or as heartfelt as if we talk about what they want, where they want to go.

Breaking it down for asset managers (and myself) at a crazy cold beach
❄️🎥🌊

👉 Here for your tips on staying aligned with the end game in our client's journey.

You can pitch performance and some people will buy it. (Let's unpack it tho...) 


Lots of ways to fundraise. 

If you've got great performance you might want to pitch it. Hard.

-- Redo materials! Put performance right up top front and center and lots of charts that show it too. 

-- Talk about how poorly your peers are doing to really shine a light on how you are crushing it.

-- Say your core values are to be number 1. (eek) 

Some investors (maybe lots) will buy that performance pomp and circumstance. 

You will cue up Mike Posner Top of the World. 

And then...

Something v normal will happen.

Your performance will slip 

Because you got too big too fast and can't move the portfolio

Or because the market did what the market does and wiled out on you

For whatever reason, you had a normal pull back 

And the investors who bought your out-performance?

Now they redeem your underperformance

The other investors in the fund will see that investors are redeeming, so they will hit the sell button too

And the virtuous performance upswing you raised into will whipsaw into a vicious redemption spiral

(if you've seen that movie before you know it's fun times 🙄(

So... yes, there are lots of ways to fundraise

Pitching performance is one of them

It can work

But it's worth pausing to reflect on what you will get and who you will get in that process

Hot dot chasers buy performance
They redeem it too

Classic tale of be careful what you wish for

My POV: pitch forever vs fleeting

Will be breaking it down this week. 

We can be proud of our results and still focus on the sustainable things that got us there. 

Might take longer but might be worth it in the long run.

1 big change to our target market of asset managers and wealth managers - might inspire you to refine yours.

We just wrapped our 2-day annual planning session.

In a crazy awesome Newport mansion
Because environment shapes thinking and we wanted to dream bigger.

But instead of going bigger with our target market...

We went smaller.

We went clearer.

Check it:

---

In defining target market, most of us will start with demographics.

• AUM
• Titles
• Firm size
• Geography

The challenge is we can get stuck in a big sea of "everyone is our market."

Demographics can be quicksand.

Predictable
Generic 
Crowded

---

The real leverage in target market lives in psychographics.

That’s where alignment happens.

We already knew our ideal clients:

• Share our core values
• Believe in the power of story
• Want a more human way to grow

What we hadn’t explicitly named?

---

Personal brand.

Not just believing in story,
but believing they are part of it.

We have it in our differentiators as a firm but we didn't have it in our target market. 

So we refined. 

Our ideal client has a founder or C-suite leader committed to

•  Building a personal brand
•  Showing up on LinkedIn
•  Being seen

A  person who is jazzed to become a thought leader in their unique area of expertise

---

That small shift will change everything

• Who we say yes to
• How the work lands
• The results we can create

Because story doesn’t work in the shadows.

---

Big dreams don’t require broader markets.

They require braver ones.
 
And braver can mean smaller focus. 

📌 Have you found what a client believes (or doesn't) matters in your target market (maybe more than we realize)?

=
+ If you want help on LinkedIn in 2026, I got some things cooking. DM me and I will add you (or your team) 👀 to our wait list 🙌

5 filters to set goals for an amazing year of growth. 
 
We use these with clients in annual business strategy sessions. 

And we use them on ourselves. 

---

1️⃣ Did we reverse engineer from long-term vision to short-term goals?

- Start with the 10-year vision

- Pull it into 3 years

- Then 1 year

- Then the next 90 days

Humans can focus and execute well for shorter sprints (quarter by quarter).

Design our goals such that if we hit quarterly goals, we will be on track to hit annual, if we hit annual, we will be on track to hit 3 yr and so on.

Set the long term vision
Work back to the year
Then play the next 90 days like they are high stakes. (cuz they are)

---

2️⃣ Are we driving forward with metrics we can actually control? 

Goals that depend on other people? Rough.

Instead, ask: 
what’s the step right before the result we want? 
The one we can ensure we hit. 

We can’t control outcomes.
We can control inputs.

That’s where progress lives.

---

3️⃣ Are we measuring backwards to protect confidence and juice momentum?

We’re excellent at this pattern:

Hit the goal

Move the goalpost

Feel behind again

When the reality is we just accomplished something meaningful... but we missed it.

Measuring backwards is a pause.

It reminds us:

- how far we’ve come

- what’s already working

- why we’re capable of the next level


For my quant friends, confidence compounds too. 😘

---

4️⃣ Are we trying to do less better? (bc less is more)

1–3 big things

Not 5–7 “important” things

(forget 10 omg 10 is an anxiety spiral)


We’d rather:

do 3 things exceptionally well

than 5 things halfway decent


Focus isn’t restrictive.
It’s freeing.

We said no to some really cool business opportunities for 2026 bc we want to focus on our core programs. 

It's the same reason we are pausing on our annual summit too. 

Tough choices but necessary. 

(I am learning and still a work in progress on this one.)

---

5️⃣ Does it light us up?

Seriously - a fun filter 😉

Is the goal interesting?
Is it meaningful?
Is it fun? 

This one matters more than we admit.

If it doesn’t make us:

energized

enthusiastic

eager to start the day


Why are we doing it?

Sustainable growth requires emotional fuel.
Or we will just be "who cares-ing" the year away.

(I speak from experience on this. Real talk.)

---

These 5 filters help our clients and us architect a banger of a year in 2026:

Clear goals
→ fewer priorities
→ controllable metrics
→ visible progress
→ positive energy

📌 Which one hits for you, any to add?

Happy New Year, Friends. Game on!

❝You’re a seasoned pro who isn’t afraid to spill the financial tea, always serving up market wisdom with a side of hilarious memes. Your feed is where serious finance meets serious fun, minus the boring bits. 

You’ve absolutely mastered the art of LinkedIn, turning the corporate hustle into a stage for your daily insights. While X users are out there with their hot takes, your LinkedIn is serving up gold.❞

(Favikon Creator Rewind December 2025)

A passionate investor for 35+ years, I love to share my investment journey 🧳 and build a community of likeminded fellow investors here and IRL! 

Multi-asset expert with background in the complicated stuff (structured credit, hedge funds & alts) who worked for different banks in London, New York & Berlin and as partner & lead PM at a London-based absolute return credit boutique (€8bn AuM & 30+ staff) I co-founded. 

Was lead PM of two public CDOs of ABS, New Bond Street CDO 1 & 2, $1 billion each, and co-manager of a €600 million absolute return credit HF (invested in corporate CDS/indices, ABS, CLOs). 

Conducted countless interviews of asset managers & HFs throughout my career, in many cases followed by on-site due diligence visits in the US & Europe, the majority as PM and, 2014-2023, as ratings analyst at Scope Group. 

In my current role as fund & manager selector for my family office, I participate frequently in investment conferences where I get to familiarise myself with many new managers. 

Extensive global network & high cross-cultural competence gained during working & studying in 🇬🇧 & 🇺🇸 for 12+ years. 

Fully qualified securities advisor & wealth manager; approved by the UK financial services regulator (FSA/FCA) in the 2000s & 2024/25. 

Active volunteer & consultant for the CFA Institute. In 2023, I received the much coveted Donald L. Tuttle Award for excellence in the CFA program Level 3 grading process. Since 2013, I have participated in 19 consecutive grading sessions, acting as team captain 👨‍✈️ in recent years. 

📙Avid reader & podcast listener. 🪤Patient, disciplined, intuitive & confident investor. My mottos "Better vaguely right than precisely wrong" and "Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been" have served me well. 📈 

Specialties: Fund & manager selection, multi-asset investing, asset allocation, wealth management, institutional investment management, alternative investments, fixed income, structured credit, CDO management, CLOs, hedge funds, fund of funds, UK investment trusts, permanent capital vehicles, debt funds, AIF, liquid alts.

Harald Berlinicke

For an analyst, mastering the finance lingo is part of the rite of passage.

Saying “100bps” instead of “1%” is a small step for math, a giant leap for analyst confidence.

Finance runs on a near-secret language.

Efficient, precise, and completely baffling to outsiders.

Same number, different expression.

And once you speak it, there’s no going back.

Happy Monday! 😊

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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🙌 It started with my Friday Funnies. Now I post the best memes when I see them. Why restrict laughters to Fridays, right? 🙌

Harald Berlinicke, CFA 🍵

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Denmark government bonds at 48 cents.

That’s the moment bond investors stop asking about fiscal policy and start asking: “So…what’s the collateral?”

In high yield, price tells you everything. 

Above par: optimism. At 80: spreadsheets. Below 50: site visits.

Sovereign debt isn’t supposed to trade like distressed HY.

But when it does, the mindset follows. Credit risk turns into collateral math. What backs the paper if things go wrong?

In comes the dark joke making the rounds: Greenland is the collateral.

Of course it’s tongue-in-cheek. But markets have a way of stripping politics down to balance sheets. When bonds trade like junk, investors think like recovery specialists.

Rule of credit still holds:
Cash flow matters. But at 48 cents, collateral matters more.

PS: In case you wondered…the price chart is for the 0.25% 2052 bonds.

PPS: This post is meant to be ironic. No need to comment on the concept of duration (which I understand as a former structured credit PM). 😌

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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BREAKING: CFA level II pass rate drops to only 42% 😮

Big week for me sharing a double-bill of CFA exam results. On Tuesday it was the level I results and today its time for level II — arguably the toughest finance exam in the world.

Which is born out again in a low passing score of only 42%. 

Here is the reporting from Katherine Doherty (Bloomberg):

The pass rate for the second level of the CFA test fell to the lowest since 2022 as candidates who stayed on schedule continued to outperform peers who put oﬀ the exam.

In November, 42% of candidates sitting for the Level II test were successful, down from a 44% pass rate for those who took the exam in August and 54% for May test takers, the CFA Institute said in a statement Thursday. 

That’s below the 46% average for the past decade, but higher than the lows in 2021 and 2022, when performance was impacted by test-taking deferrals amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

As with other levels of the CFA exam, figures show that candidates who put oﬀ taking the test have a lower likelihood of success. Those who took the Level II test in November after at least one deferral saw a 27% pass rate, compared with 50% for first-time candidates, the CFA Institute said.

“The path through the CFA program is demanding, and outcomes diﬀer along the way,” Christopher Wiese, MD for education at the institute, said in the statement. 

“Candidates are encouraged to take stock of their progress and return to their studies when ready, building on the knowledge they’ve already gained.”

More than 15,000 candidates sat for the Level II exam in November, which was administered at 502 proctored, computer-based testing centers around the world.

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

👋 Follow me for my daily investing nuggets, musings on markets, and hilarious investing memes. 💸

Rethinking the stock–bond relationship

A fascinating chart from Dan Rasmussen at Verdad Advisers should make every proponent of the 60/40 model pause.

Over nearly two centuries of data, one fact stands out: the stock/bond correlation isn’t structurally negative. It flips positive, especially when core inflation exceeds 3% and becomes volatile.

Because when inflation is high and unpredictable, central banks tighten aggressively to protect credibility. 

Bonds sell off. 

Equities reprice lower. 

Correlation turns positive.

And diversification falters.

Only when core inflation is stable and below 3% do central banks step in to cushion markets, restoring the negative correlation investors rely on.

Which is crucial today as trillions are tied up in 60/40 portfolios built on the assumption that bonds will always hedge equities. 

But recent events — from 2022 to the tariff tantrum of 2025 — challenge that comfort.

Time for allocators to figure out on which section of the chart we are likely to be in the coming years and whether a 60:40 balanced approach to investing is likely to deliver the goods. 🚚 

Based on an article by Alfonso Peccatiello.

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

👋 Follow me for my daily investing nuggets, musings on markets, and hilarious investing memes. 💸

The Rotation Away From Crypto Explained 👾

Crypto is missing the macro moment. While gold is surging, equities are booming, and the dollar is weakening, Bitcoin has stalled. 

Prices are down some 25% from October, ETF outflows are accelerating, volumes are thin, and conviction is quietly eroding.

On paper, the setup should favor crypto: easing inflation, looser financial conditions, geopolitical risk. 

In practice, capital is choosing clearer narratives. 

Gold is winning the hedge trade. 

Equities (especially tech and small caps) are capturing risk appetite. 

Broad equity ETFs are seeing record inflows while crypto vehicles bleed.

Competition isn’t just traditional assets. Investor attention and speculative energy have rotated elsewhere: 

AI has absorbed the innovation premium; prediction markets (Kalshi, Polymarket) and platforms like Hyperliquid are pulling from the same trader base that once fueled crypto cycles. 

Within crypto, NFTs and meme-driven momentum have lost credibility, weakening retail’s “HODL” culture.

The result is a thinner, quieter market…functional, but detached from urgency. 

Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold” looks episodic at best, more correlated to liquidity and equity-like risk than a durable macro hedge. 

Until crypto reasserts a compelling use case or momentum (many point to $100k+ for BTC), capital has better places to go.

Based on reporting by Vildana Hajric and David Pan (Bloomberg)

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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Is the AI trade moving from the cloud to the ground? ⛏️

Since early 2025, the MSCI Metals and Mining Index has surged nearly 90%, outperforming semiconductors, global banks, and even the Magnificent Seven.

While the world has been focused on chips and LLMs, fund managers are realizing that the digital revolution has a massive physical footprint 👣. 

We are likely entering a new Commodity Supercycle.

Here are three key takeaways from the recent shift in the mining sector:

1️⃣ AI is a Physical Play: You cannot build data centers, robotics, or EVs without copper, aluminum, silver, and nickel. These metals have become structural investments essential to the energy and tech transitions.

2️⃣ The "Buy over Build" Era: We are seeing a wave of massive M&A (think Anglo American and Teck Resources Limited). Because it is becoming harder and more expensive to bring new mines online, industry giants are choosing to buy existing production to gain scale. This "scarcity value" is a massive tailwind for valuations.

3️⃣ The Valuation Gap: Despite the 90% gain, the sector still trades at a significant discount (about 20%) to its long-term price-to-book average. While some caution is warranted regarding iron ore and China, the "pure-play" copper and precious metals miners are positioned as the new portfolio anchors — capturing both monetary policy shifts and technological transformation.

➡️For investors seeking exposure to AI 🤖 and energy transition⚡️beyond crowded tech valuations, mining deserves serious reconsideration.⬅️

Based on reporting by Michael Msika and Winnie Hsu (Bloomberg)

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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Mining stocks on cusp of supercycle_BBG 24Jan2026

If you are looking for another reason to be bullish on gold… 🥇🐂 

WisdomTree Asset Management’s Jeff Weniger, CFA may be talking his own book here a bit. As his company runs several gold related exchange traded products.

Nevertheless, the chart he put together provides some perspective on where the next wave of demand for gold could come from: From gold ETFs/ETCs. 

I would agree with him that a relatively small reallocation by investors from stocks to gold (conveniently done online with a click of a button via exchange-traded gold products), could provide a further boost to the price of gold, all other things being equal.

Especially, when we reach the market mania phase of the gold bull market.

Here’s Weniger’s take:
“One reason to be bullish gold is that Apple alone has a market cap equal to 10x all the money that is invested in all gold and gold mining ETPs in this country. 

I calculate $365 billion total is managed by all of us in the US ETF business, akin only to the stock market value of Procter & Gamble (the 26th-largest company in America). 

The theory is, or may be, that a small shift in investor interest toward gold would push precious metals that much higher.”

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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Private equity: When exits are scarce but adjectives abundant!

AI can summarize.
AI can polish.
AI can even add reassuring adjectives like “robust,” “disciplined,” and “long-term oriented.”

What it still can’t do:

Turn mark-ups into exits.

Make bridge financing disappear.

Explain why EBITDA grew faster than revenue.

Or convince LPs that “paper IRR” pays pensions.

But sure, let’s turn operational excellence to linguistic excellence…

Happy Friday! 😀

Image source: Leyla Kunimoto  

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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👨‍🔬Biotech investing: New research on how to approach the challenging sector 🧬

Super insightful white paper on the biotech sector by Boston-based boutique manager Verdad Advisers.

It’s the result of research over a year in which proprietary datasets spanning specialist holdings, insider activity, financials, acquisitions, and more than 130,000 clinical trials were collected. 

I must admit that I totally gobbled it up. 

As it contains many powerful charts and fascinating angles 📐 that I had previously not (fully) considered.

But why has biotech been such a wasteland for so many investors?

Well, over the past 30 years, more than two-thirds of biotechs that reached at least $200m in market value ultimately lost money for investors. Many were acquired at negative returns, delisted, or remain public as “zombie biotechs,” with failed programs and stranded cash. 

Yet the remaining third generated significant value, often through acquisitions or sustained clinical success. 

The dispersion of outcomes is extreme.

This volatility, combined with recent sector underperformance, has left biotech widely misunderstood and deeply out of favor. 

Which may provide the basis for future outperformance of the sector.

➡️This is a great research paper to save and revisit when you are ready to give biotech stocks a second chance. In my view, it is mandatory reading for anyone seriously considering the sector.⬅️

Dan Rasmussen 
Gregory Obenshain  

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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White paper on biotech investing_Verdad_Jan 2026

These pictures were taken same time last year in Mannheim.

I’m excited to be back: reconnecting with familiar faces, meeting new contacts, and of course creating fresh memories along the way.

And a few must-have #linkedinbuddies 🤳 moments as well, no doubt.

If you’re attending Germany’s largest fund management event as well and would like to say hello, feel free to leave a quick comment below. I’ll do my best to reach out and see if we can squeeze in a coffee ☕️ between sessions.

With around 8,000 industry professionals on site, it’s shaping up to be quite the zoo once again 🦍🦁🦒 — in the best possible way.

FONDS Professionell Multimedia GmbH 
Hosna Houbani, CFA 
Stephanie Lebert 
Thiemo Volkholz  

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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Korea’s 🇰🇷 market cap now above Germany’s 🇩🇪 

Despite the significant difference in the size of their economies, with Europe’s largest economy still about 2.5 times bigger at roughly $4.69 trillion versus $1.88 trillion (based on 2024 data), the stock market tells a different story. 

As Bloomberg reports: 

South Korea overtook Germany in stock market value, powered by tech giants riding the global boom in artificial intelligence and robotics. 

The Asian nation’s stock market climbed to a valuation of $3.25 trillion, after adding roughly $1.7 trillion since the start of 2025, according to Bloomberg-compiled data as of Wednesday. That surpassed Germany’s $3.22 trillion, making Korea the world’s 10th‑largest stock market, just behind Taiwan. 

The reshuffling in rankings highlights the swift rise of Korean stocks, driven by shareholder‑friendly reforms and the nation’s pivotal role in the global AI supply chain. The equity benchmark Kospi has jumped 23% in 2026, while Germany’s Dax Index has climbed just 1.7%, weighed down by geopolitical uncertainties and a lack of clarity over stimulus deployment. 

Korean stocks are still cheap, with the Kospi Index trading at 10.6 times forward earnings estimates, compared to Germany’s benchmark at 16.5, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

“Korea and Germany have similar economies in many ways — both are very export-oriented,” said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management. “The key difference is in tech. Germany used to fight for the top position about 20 years ago, but now when you look at German stocks, there’s not much tech.” 

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

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👨‍⚕️ Would love to check my fellow investors' pulse 🩺 with the following poll 🗳️

❓ I’m really curious which generations make up my LinkedIn community…which one do you belong to? 👶 <=>👨‍🦳

ℹ️ 3 1/2 years ago I had around 3,800 connections when I started posting daily on LinkedIn.
Now with a thriving community and over 60,000 followers, it’s time for me to understand better whom I’m creating content for.
I know that given my focus on fellow-pros, there is likely to be a tilt towards Boomers and GenX, but how much so? Really curious to find out!

Got a poll idea 💡 that deserves more visibility? Drop me a DM 📥 — if it’s a topic that resonates with me, I'll post it and tag you as collaborator.

(The topic for today's poll was inspired by a similar poll from Nils Jacobsen.)

I am running 🏃‍♂️ a weekly investment related poll on Mondays (08:00 CET) for 7 days.

(+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

Enjoyed this post?
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➡️ I’ll stay (mostly) quiet in the comments so I don’t sway the poll. Actually, as we are not dealing with opinions here but rather facts, you can ignore that! 🤓⬅️

I’m really curious which generations make up my LinkedIn community…which one do you belong to? 👶 <=>👨‍🦳

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

My personal fanboy moment in Mannheim

Last year I shook hands with Gary Kasparow, my childhood chess ♟️ idol, at Germany’s largest investment conference.

So in the run-up to this year’s event I was wondering who could provide me with a starstruck moment this time.

In came former German minister of defense in Angela Merkel’s cabinet, Karl-Theodor (KT) zu Guttenberg, whose weekly posts on LinkedIn I never miss.

Because they are that good.

They are soft-written mini essays, reflective, lyrical and deliberately unrushed. Sitting halfway between journalism and literature.

A fantastic change from what content I read most of the time.

Highly recommended for everyone who misses feuilletons from the old newspaper days. 

The conference itself delivered again in aces. 

The one meeting I want to highlight is the #linkedinbuddies moment with Thomas Völker 🤖 from the Berlin-based fintech startup Realist. He kindly gifted me a copy of the book “Skin in the Game” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (of black swan fame). Which I was able to use to get an autograph ✍️ from Taleb after he had delivered his keynote speech at the conference.

Apart from that, I will let the picture speak for themselves — hopefully, I managed to tag everyone!

+++Opinions are my own. Not investment advice. Do your own research.+++)

👋 Follow me for my daily investing nuggets, musings on markets, and hilarious investing memes. 💸

FONDS Professionell Multimedia GmbH
Marcus Mueller, CAIA
Suraj Kakar (portagon)
Oksana Ianko, Stephanie Lebert & Hosna Houbani, CFA  (Scope Fund Analysis)
Tilman Versch 
Gökhan Kula, CFA (ALPS Family Office AG) 
Jan Engelke, CFA & Bernhard Matthes (Bank für Kirche und Caritas eG)
Alan Bartlett & Dr. Sandy Nairn (Goodhart Partners LLP)
Ansgar Nolte, CFA (Volksbank BRAWO)
Alfred Rochert (Hotspot Capital)
Sonja Knorr (Scope Fund Analysis)
Gary Tuffield (Goodhart Partners LLP)
Dennis Mehrtens & Flurry Wright (Guinness Global Investors)
Yasmin Mirzay (van Grunsteyn)
Amadeo Alentorn (Jupiter Asset Management)
Sebastian Jeuk, CAIA (Baillie Gifford)
Patrick N. Hahn  CAIA, CIIA (Union Investment)

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Stacy Havener's LinkedIn Performance

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