Altea Update: Jan 31

Hi,

Astute Alts subscribers (that’s you) know Alts has two communities for you to enjoy:

🥂 Altea is our private community.

It’s for accredited investors who want access to unbelievable deals (really, you won’t believe some of the stuff that comes across my desk), join us on life-altering trips, and meet incredible people.

🗣️ Separately, we just launched our public community.

​Shoot the sh*t​ about alternative investing, dive into ​gated content​, drop ​questions​ into AMA sessions with ​deal sponsors​, dig into our library of ​book recommendations​, find ​investable gifts​, and read my ​cattle gallstone business plan​.

Altea members get an All-Access pass for free, usually costing $200 annually.

Altea members get an All-Access pass for free, usually costing $200 annually.

From now on, you’ll see all the best from both communities in this note.

Wait, you’re not a member yet?!

For a limited time, you can join ​Altea​ – the world’s most enriching community for alternative investors – for only $99.

​Get stuck in​ if you’ve not already, and you could be in next week’s highlights.

LFG 🚀

Best of Altea

First, let’s celebrate a win and welcome our newest members.

As of yesterday, Film I is fully allocated, with 100% of the funds put to work across five different films. They’re earning an average annualized IRR of 96%.

New members

Please welcome several folks who’ve joined us recently:

  • ​Xander Leanos​ – Xander is a managing partner at Dynastic Capital in Virginia and an alum of GWU.
  • ​Raymond C Loughlin​ – Ray, who lives in Massachusetts, is a hard money lender with expertise in real estate, litigation finance, and private credit.
  • ​Akhilesh Rao​ – Akhilesh is a nephrologist (Dr of the kidneys) in Ohio. He’s got extensive experience with alts, having invested in real estate, angel investing, art, crypto, precious metals & gems, and commodities.
  • ​Mandar Mirashi ​– Mandar, who joined a lifetime pass, lives in the NYC area. He wants to dig deeper into collectibles, autos, handbags & watches, litigation finance, and music & film. If you’re an expert in any of these, please ​contact him​.
  • ​Travis Jamison​ – I’ve known Travis for nearly a decade and am pleased he’s joined our community. He’s an expert at angel investing and private equity if you’d like to learn more about those spaces. Make sure to say hi to Travis ​here​.

A warm welcome to all our new members. Chaps, ​introduce yourselves​ and drop in an ​Ask or Offer​.

🌱 Coming this Spring

We’re taking a bit of a breather this week, consolidating things after the rush of Film I and Art Opportunity I to close out 2024.

But that will change quickly with ​several exciting deals​ scheduled for the next few months.

Here’s a sneak peak…

🍹 Altea Tequila Distillery – February

If you liked ​Tequila I​, you’re going to love this.

Thanks to relationships we’ve built in Mexico via two tequila investments and two trips to the Jalisco region, we have the opportunity to ​invest in a tequila distillery​ buyout.

👉 ​Drop your details to stay in the loop​​.

It’s still early, and more numbers are coming soon, but this is what I can share now:

The distillery is being forced to sell and has a certification called an NOM. The NOM gives it the right to distill tequila, a protected class in Mexico.

​There are only 259​​, and you’ve got to have one if you want to call your product Tequila.

Otherwise, you’re just making ​​agave spirit slop​​.

Altea has negotiated the right to buy up to around 30% of the equity.

We’re also partnering with two industry experts to ensure it’s cash-flowing from the start.

  1. A leader in tequila brand creation and private label production, and
  2. A US-based alcohol producer offering co-packing, import, distribution, and group purchasing.

The acquisition includes onsite state-of-the-art facilities that are already operational but working well under capacity.

This is early days, and we’ll have more info soon.

PS: If this goes ahead, we’ll have a launch party for investors in Jalisco

👉 ​Express Interest​ (Altea members have priority and pay no management fees)

👉 ​Join the conversation​

🍷 Carnation Capital – February

An alternate way to invest in spirits, ​Carnation Capital​ specializes in trade finance for the wine industry.

Run by ​Elaine Lau​, who has deep expertise in both wine and finance, Carnation will offer trade credit, private debt, and equity financing to revenue-generating wine businesses across Europe and Asia.

With targeted returns of 20–25% per annum and semi-annual distributions, it offers an income-generating way to get exposure to the industry.

👉 ​View Deck​

👉 ​Express Interest​ (Altea members have priority and pay no management fees)

👉 ​Deal Memo​

👉 ​Join the conversation​ (including Travis’s notes on his meeting with Elaine)

🏇🏻 Horse Pinhooking | 40% IRR – May

If you don’t know what horse pinhooking is, start ​here​.

Tl;dr: Pinhooking buys a horse when it’s a foal (less than a year old) and sells it when it becomes a yearling (between one and two years old). In the meantime, the investor does everything possible to increase the value of that horse.

Altean ​Beata Aldridge​ brought us this unique deal, which is one of the best I’ve seen this year.

Pinhooking is one of those industries (like film finance and art) where industry insiders can achieve huge returns (forecast here at 40%) due to a lack of transparency and efficient markets.

More to come on this one soon.

👉 ​Express Interest​ (Altea members have priority and pay no management fees)

👉 ​Join the Conversation​

🔜 Deals Closing Soon

🏢 Tomball Industrial Real Estate | 40% IRR

​This class-B industrial real estate opportunity​ is taking final commits and has nudged into oversubscription territory.

If you’re on the fence with this one, please give me a shout or drop your thoughts in the ​comments​.

👉 Commit ​here​

🏎️ The Car Crowd – Three Ferraris | 30% funded

We’ve partnered with The Car Crowd to bring you ​2025’s fastest investment opportunity​ — three investment-grade Ferraris acquired in the UK to be sold at arbitrage levels in the US.

Check out our fireside chat with the sponsors.

👉 Review the deal memo, which includes a thorough interview with the sponsors.

👉 Commit ​here​

👉 Join the ​conversation​

✉️ Contact the Sponsor Directly

This is where you’ll find deals we like but didn’t create an SPV for. There can be various reasons for this, but the deal wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t rated it.

⚒️ Mega Tech Metals | Crazy IRR potential | Sri Lanka

As much as I love ​this deal​ and the potential to 10x with it, I don’t think I have the expertise to diligence it sufficiently despite three phone calls with Neil and the team, even with the community’s help.

If you want to get involved, please contact ​Neil​ directly. He’s a fellow Altean.

💃 Samba TV Secondary

This fantastic opportunity didn’t reach escape velocity in the community. Due to a forced sale, it’s a secondary offering at a significant discount.

If you want to get involved, please contact the sponsors directly ​here​. Tell them Altea sent you.

🧳 Altea on Tour

🖼️ TEFAF – March

Nicho and I will be at ​TEFAF Maastricht in March​, hunting for Art Opportunity I acquisitions while connecting with potential investors and dealers. Please let me know if you’ll be in the area and would like VIP access. (Must be an Altea member)

🍻 Spring Meetups – April / May

We’re looking to arrange meetups in various cities around North America and Europe this April and May.

This list will probably shrink, but here’s the list of locations we’re considering:

  • 🗽 NYC
  • 🍕 Chicago
  • 🍑 Atlanta
  • 🎞️ Los Angeles
  • 🌁 San Francisco
  • 🌮 Mexico City
  • 🇬🇧 London
  • ⛰️ Switzerland (city TBC)

Each meetup will be different, but we’ll aim to incorporate an investment angle, drinks, a unique experience, and food.

The event will be free for Alteans, and you’re encouraged to bring along friends you think would be a good fit for the community.

Demand will determine which cities we visit, so please let me know if you’d like to attend.

👉 ​RSVP here​

We’ll open a few slots for prospective Altea members interested in joining.

🍿 All-Access

You’re missing out if you’re not in the All-Access community already.

A few of this week’s highlights:

The ​Rise and Collapse of the NYC Taxi Medallion Industry​

Bitcoin life insurance? ​Bitcoin life insurance​

All the ​news​ that’s fit to print (and a bit more)

Wyatt’s latest investable ​book recommendation​.

👉 ​Join the conversation.​

That’s it for this week. Please let me know your questions, comments, or suggestions.

Cheers,

Wyatt, Stefan, and John

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Author

Picture of Wyatt Cavalier

Wyatt Cavalier

With a background in finance & intelligence analysis, Wyatt has an unhealthy obsession with finding the best blue chip investment opportunities. His previous newsletter, Fractional, resonated deeply with subscribers, bringing actionable insights and unconventional trading strategies. His rare book collection specializes in banned editions. He currently lives in Spain with his beautiful wife, three young boys, and dog Monty.
india investor trip

Altea Update: Feb 14

I’m working on a private tour of the High Museum of Art and the NCAA Hall of Fame, including dinner at Bacchanalia.

synthetic diamond

Altea Update: Jan 24

We’ve got a line on a tequila distillery in Mexico, and Altea has negotiated the right to buy up to around 30% of the equity.

Altea Update: Dec 17 – Big Update

Before we begin, let’s celebrate a win. The first loan made via ​Film I​ has been paid back. LPs earned 9% absolute interest on a five-week loan (that’s 149% IRR for those scoring at home).

art by Ithell Colquhoun

Celebrating our biggest wins from 2024

We celebrate our biggest wins from 2024 — from lucrative Altea returns, to Hollywood film financing deals, to the launch of our new community.

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