Who Am I - What Am I Doing Here?
What Am I Doing Here?
My goal each week is to give you something useful to take away and understand the economy and financial markets in digestible chunks.
The chart above tells you a lot, but it only starts to get interesting when you dig into it a bit and reflect on what the lines mean and what the axes tell you.
Let me give you the first insight: many people who spend their lives in and around financial markets seem to know a lot about them. Some of them do.
But that doesn’t always help them make the right decisions to generate wealth and protect it.
What is the point of sounding smart if you are not helping others to understand? What is the point of sounding smart if you make others feel stupid?
It is important to me that I don’t do that - and I expect to hear from you if I ever do.
Second insight: Most people live their lives on the assumption that they can do something to affect their lives and the outcomes they experience.
At the same time, they know they are being carried along on a tide whose behavior they can’t affect. These two things are both true—in your life, the financial markets, and the economy.
The U.S. economy is complicated (most economies are complicated), and navigating it can be problematic.
We know that the economy is affected by the millions of decisions that people make while living their lives and running their businesses, yet sometimes we feel helpless as if our decisions don’t matter, and we feel like we are going to get run over by forces beyond our control.
Your decision to subscribe to this newsletter will help you develop ideas and strategies that will give you a good chance of not getting run over.
Who Am I
An Englishman who has been living here since 1988 - since I got married.
How did that happen? Great question.
Because I read a book by John Fowles that changed my life.
Most of you will know his most famous work, French Lieutenant’s Woman, which is obviously pronounced “Left-tenant”—maybe that's part of why I left.
No, this was another Daniel Martin. And it was just one line comparing America and Europe to a long novel, with Europe at the end and America stuck on the first page.
It appealed to me. I had read everything by Fowles - total CRUSH on his writing.
And so, I wanted to move here.
Why the Big Step?
I got the chance to move to Dallas through work. It was tricky because I had been dating someone for four months.
“Well,” she said, “if you want me to come with you, we will need to get married.”
Fair enough. A week later, we were married. CRAZY RIGHT?
I was working at the time for a British Merchant Bank called Kleinwort Benson. I worked for them for twenty years through various acquisitions. I did project finance - satellites - and structured finance (tax and accounting). I ran a big group that made lots of money.
And then, familiar story, the crew at the top changed, and I was ‘moved’ out along with a few others.
I started my own firm during the financial crisis in 2008, ran it for ten years, and then sold it to KKR.
Then, I joined another conglomerate and built a renewable energy business for them using their tax capacity (ability to enjoy government tax benefits while investing capital in solar, wind, etc.)
And then, after five years, they decided, as companies always are entitled to do, that they didn’t want the business anymore, so I left.
Again, I am on my own, or rather with a trusted business partner I have worked with for nearly twenty years, building another business that helps renewable energy developers and investors take advantage of the government incentives available under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The government incentivizes corporations and investors with passive income to invest in renewable energy by giving them a discount of 7-10% on every dollar invested. We help investors find these opportunities and close the deal.
We help developers find investors who will provide capital for their projects.
We work for developers and investors who benefit from our 360-degree market view.
Here’s what I know and what I bring to this newsletter:
For over forty years, I have paid attention to staying in good shape
I rowed, ran, biked, skied, golfed, worked out with kettlebells
I feel stronger than I ever have (aches be dammed)
I know I don’t regret that decision in 1988 to get married and Come to America
I know that everything I have done has led to this
I know what challenges I have and how to deal with them
I know there will be challenges I don’t yet know about
I know I will deal with those, too
I know that writing about the world I have inhabited for over 30 years is worthwhile, so I created this newsletter.
If you stick with it, I will help you better understand these crazy markets, make informed financial decisions, and protect and grow your personal wealth.
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