Value Ventures: A Prologue

Hello Macro Ops World! Like the first program to run on the original Macintosh, my introduction into this growing community of people striving to be the best they can be inside and out of the markets isn’t fancy. My name is Mr. Bean. No, it’s not the name I wanted — I would’ve rather preferred something sexy, like ROGUE. However, Chris D made it very clear that you don’t pick your nickname, your nickname picks you. That being said, I’m thrilled to join the MO team and look forward to becoming both a better investor and human.

So what is Value Ventures?

Value Ventures will be Macro Ops’ one-stop-shop for all things value investing. Think of it like Bruce Greenwald and Michael Burry having a love-child in which pillow talk revolved around balance sheets, not bed sheets — you get the picture. Value investing has many definitions and everyone is quick to give you their views on the subject. Out of all the movers and shakers in the industry offering their definition, spin-off OG Joel Greenblatt’s makes the most sense: Trying to figure out what a business is worth, and then paying a lot less for it.

I could stop there — that’s it. Value Ventures is all about trying to figure out what a business is worth, and then seeing if we can pay a lot less to own it. Shares aren’t blips on a Bloomberg screen or tickers on a chart; they’re physical pieces of ownership in real businesses. This sense of ownership is vitally important to us as value investors. Without this “ownership” level of conviction in the businesses we buy, we won’t be able to stomach the downturns that inevitably come over time. As value investors our time horizon is far off in the distance — perhaps 10, 20, or even 30 years. This time frame gives us a tremendous edge against the fast-paced market shakers that are prodded out on CNBC every day.

What Content Can I Expect to Receive?

You might be thinking, “that sounds all good and dandy, Mr. Bean … but what kind of content should we expect from you?” Excellent question! You should expect deep work on individual businesses, topical musings on psychology, physical health, mental models, business moats, and the like. Finally, you’ll get a heavy dose of smaller write-ups on off-the-beaten-path companies such as spin-offs, SPAC’s, reverse mergers, and micro – caps. Wherever there’s value, we’re willing to venture.

I look forward to learning and improving each and every day with the MO community. You can reach me on Twitter @marketplunger1 or email mrbean@macro-ops.com.

Stay Venturing!

P.S. If you want to take a look at my pre-trade value checklist click here for a free download!

 

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Brandon Beylo

Value Investor

Brandon has been a professional investor focusing on value for over 13 years, spending his time in small to micro-cap companies, spin-offs, SPACs, and deep value liquidation situations. Over time, he’s developed a deeper understanding for what deep-value investing actually means, and refined his philosophy to include any business trading at a wild discount to what he thinks its worth in 3-5 years.

Brandon has a tenacious passion for investing, broad-based learning, and business. He previously worked for several leading investment firms before joining the team at Macro Ops. He lives by the famous Munger mantra of trying to get a little smarter each day.

AK

Investing & Personal Finance

AK is the founder of Macro Ops and the host of Fallible.

He started out in corporate economics for a Fortune 50 company before moving to a long/short equity investment firm.

With Macro Ops focused primarily on institutional clients, AK moved to servicing new investors just starting their journey. He takes the professional research and education produced at Macro Ops and breaks it down for beginners. The goal is to help clients find the best solution for their investing needs through effective education.

Tyler Kling

Volatility & Options Trader

Former trade desk manager at $100+ million family office where he oversaw multiple traders and helped develop cutting edge quantitative strategies in the derivatives market.

He worked as a consultant to the family office’s in-house fund of funds in the areas of portfolio manager evaluation and capital allocation.

Certified in Quantitative Finance from the Fitch Learning Center in London, England where he studied under famous quants such as Paul Wilmott.

Alex Barrow

Macro Trader

Founder and head macro trader at Macro Ops. Alex joined the US Marine Corps on his 18th birthday just one month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He subsequently spent a decade in the military. Serving in various capacities from scout sniper to interrogator and counterintelligence specialist. Following his military service, he worked as a contract intelligence professional for a number of US agencies (from the DIA to FBI) with a focus on counterintelligence and terrorist financing. He also spent time consulting for a tech company that specialized in building analytic software for finance and intelligence analysis.

After leaving the field of intelligence he went to work at a global macro hedge fund. He’s been professionally involved in markets since 2005, has consulted with a number of the leading names in the hedge fund space, and now manages his own family office while running Macro Ops. He’s published over 300 white papers on complex financial and macroeconomic topics, writes regularly about investment/market trends, and frequently speaks at conferences on trading and investing.

Macro Ops is a market research firm geared toward professional and experienced retail traders and investors. Macro Ops’ research has been featured in Forbes, Marketwatch, Business Insider, and Real Vision as well as a number of other leading publications.

You can find out more about Alex on his LinkedIn account here and also find him on Twitter where he frequently shares his market research.