When I was younger, I used to do a lot more “trading”. Trading for me is when you have no particular long term view, but you have a conviction that its going to have a big move in the short term. 90 to 95% of what you read on Substack or Twitter would fall into the trading perspective in my view. If you are using technical analysis, you are a trader. If you are thematic investor, you are trader. Trading tends to work best in a bull market, which is what we are most definitely in at the moment.
Like most managers, eventually you move away from trading. Brumby Capital and this substack are a “macro product”, which is in its simplest form says that politics is leading to dearth of capital, and the cost of capital is going to rise. Brumby benefits from this rising cost of capital. What I like about Substack, is that it allows me to produce notes explaining this in detail. The problem is that Substack USED to do a good job in distributing this message, but I think Substack have made a strategic move to be closer to Twitter, with a greater emphasis on the notes function and using the App. Personally, I don’t think the world needs another Twitter - but the move has seen Substack valuation rise again, and in a capitalist world, that’s all that counts.
I have been approached by a website called Slice. Their interface is much more finance orientated, allowing me to upload trades. It also has features for direct one to one mentoring. One big upside for me, is that they restrict who can publish on their website, so its a different model to Twitter and Substack. It also means I have direct access to the founders, so can ask for the app to be tweaked as needed. One other benefit from my perspective is that it gives me leverage with Substack if they ever a foolish enough to try and raise the take rate. These are the benefits to me. But what can Slice do for you?
If you are happy with my macro thoughts, and how I then turn that into an investible product that is Brumby Capital, then Slice is not for you. However, if you want even MORE Russell and my thoughts, then Slice could be for you. I have been using it for a bit in testing mode, and what I like about it is that I can use it to just upload what is more a “steam of consciousness” about what I am seeing while I work - and yes, some “trading ideas”.
I am very happy with the Substack community that I have built, and so there should be no change to what I publish or what I do here. But if you are interested in having a look at Slice, then have a look here. Slice is more expensive at USD99 a month, but for Substack readers I am offering a 50% discount - use the code RUSTY50 when signing up. This discount will be for the first 100 subs, or first month, whichever comes first.
