Blind Squirrel Macro - an introduction to the 🐿️
I am not really a squirrel! My name is Rupert Mitchell. This project started as a trading diary that I shared with friends and industry professionals (past and current). This was largely in an attempt to keep my own investment process honest, as well as a tool to share some of the more interesting and actionable research that I encounter over time.
Then Substack came along, and I was encouraged by friends to venture into the independent research world and share my thoughts with a wider audience.
If you would like to know more about me and my background, I have done a couple of podcasts with my friend (and fellow macro ‘tourist’)
which you can find here and here.First a disclaimer. I write about economics, finance and investing, topics in which, I would like to stress at the very outset, I have no formal schooling. The academic launchpad for my 25 years at a long list of big banks (as a sell-side capital markets banker in London and Hong Kong) was a literature degree in French and Spanish!
No CFAs, MFAs, MBAs or CPAs are to be found after my name. In fact, forget business and economics, my formal education in mathematics finished when I was 16 years old, and I certainly never learned how to code.
This did not prevent me from spending a good chunk of my career in the derivatives and structured products divisions at major Wall Street and City firms (Barings, Salomon Brothers / Citi, Goldman Sachs & Jefferies). Having said that, I was certainly not the quant. I was the poor soul that was there to ‘translate’ (into layman’s terms for clients) whatever solution the (usually French) PhD traders had constructed.
A quick housekeeping point. The trades that I write about are simply a report on a small subset of trades that I am doing for my own account AND SHOULD NOT BE VIEWED IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM AS AN INVESTMENT RECOMMENDATION AND CERTAINLY NOT HIGH-LEVEL PORTFOLIO ASSET ALLOCATION ADVICE. Readers should seek professional advice to establish their suitability for any financial market transactions.
The 🐿️ Process
I am an active retail investor. I would also categorize myself, unashamedly, as a generalist. I am happy to explore pretty much any geography, asset class or product that Interactive Brokers or Saxo Markets will allow me to trade. This activity occupies a decent proportion of my waking hours (as well as a few dreams and nightmares!). As part of this investment process, I read, listen to and watch - a lot! In addition, I am lucky enough to be able to exchange ideas with a broad variety of experienced (and much smarter) investors.
I will regularly quote the work of established analysts whose work I follow or subscribe to. I do not believe that there is ever such a thing as a truly original idea, but if it ever appears that I am passing off their thoughts as my own, I apologize profusely in advance. Wherever possible, I will link directly to the source work/ research. In the event that this link directs you to material that is behind a paywall, I make absolutely no apology. In fact, please view it as a strong recommendation or referral! In all cases that research will be content that I happily pay for myself and which I believe to offer outstanding value for money. Most of the research services that I use myself have subscriptions of less than $100 per month (often much less). Just remember that one decent investment idea will more than pay for several years of a high-quality research service.
What to expect from the 🐿️
If you are anything like me, you jealously guard access to your inbox. I promise NEVER to abuse that privilege. The ONLY emails you will receive from me will be something you signed up for.
