Today I’ve got an issue celebrating some recent wins. 🙌
As we wind down 2024, I’m looking back on what a tremendous year this has been for us. We launched Altea, filled six SPVs, and hosted investor field trips to Jalisco and Nashville.
We also launched a mainstream investing newsletter: Stocks & Income, created the All-Access-Pass for behind-the-curtain access, and launched our public Alts Community which is off to a great start (400+ members!)
The fact is, we’re doing so much cool stuff right now — our story is evolving so rapidly — that it can be hard to keep up.
So today I’m sharing my favorite wins & anecdotes from 2024.
I don’t intend to come off as self-indulgent (far from it!) or turn this issue into a giant ad for Altea (even though that’s where our best wins come from.)
But the fact is, startups are hard, and it’s important to reflect & celebrate every now and then.
Let’s go 🥂
Table of Contents
🥃 Limited edition tequila barrels (3 left)
As you may know, Tequila is one of absolute our favorite alternative investments, and House of Rare is the only tequila company we do business with.
Since 2022, we’ve acquired 86 barrels from them worth $425,000.
House of Rare has unveiled a new limited collection with 10 3 barrels left for Alts subscribers, open to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
The Gekkeikan Collection 🍶
The Gekkeikan RAREcask Collection is a limited series of tequila barrels in ex-sake casks.
- Craftsmanship: Each barrel is meticulously crafted by Cascahuin, the legendary distillery we visited twice this year.
- Rarity. The ex-gekkeikan plum wine cask barrels impart unparalleled flavor, aroma, and color.
- Appreciation: Follow your barrel’s journey from blanco to extra añejo through private tours and masterclasses.
Deal terms
- Availability: 40 barrels (
103 left) - Alts subscriber price:
$8,500$6,100 per barrel (must mention you came from Alts!) - Insurance and storage: Included in price
- Aging period: 3 years. After aging, collectors can bottle their own private tequila, or exit the investment.
3 of the 10 barrels have already been sold. These collections usually sell out within a month.
How to invest:
Email Miguel directly at [email protected], or use the form below:
Win #1: Artwork sales 🎨 (Altea)
We identified a winner, and pounced
When we started Altea last January, the very first deal Wyatt brought to our new community was a bundle of 7 artwork pieces by an undervalued artist.
A British surrealist, her work has been the subject of renewed academic and collector interest. Through our research and connections, we had reason to believe works by her were being undervalued, and she was about to take off.
After extensive due diligence (and some light begging), we raised $403,000 along with new Altea members, and were able to acquire seven pieces through our art broker in London.
This became Art I, Altea’s first SPV.
In September, she was included in the groundbreaking new Surrealist Exhibition at Centre Pompidou in Paris. 🇫🇷
We wanted to take advantage of this moment in the sun. So alongside our art broker and gallery rep, Wyatt hustled to get our acquired our pieces into art shows and galleries.
Results
Our hustle paid off. Big time.
- Four of the pieces in the collection have already been sold.
- Investors got a stunning 108% return in 7 months — way beyond our expectations. (This is as of Dec 2024, and it’s net of fees!)
This was our very first Altea SPV, and a huge win all-around. (And three of the pieces still remain in our possession!)
What’s next?
Altea was designed exactly for stellar deals like this; private sale stuff you won’t find advertised anywhere. (Because frankly it doesn’t need to be advertised.) With the right connections and hustle, magic can happen.
To celebrate our success and double down on a winning strategy, we’ve put together a new opportunistic fund called Art Opportunity 1.
We’ve got well over $1m in commitments to this one now, and it’s wrapping up fast.
If you want to get in at the last minute, there may be an opportunity to grab a $50k slice.
Reply to this email if a) You’re serious, and b) You can move fast.
For a limited time, you can try out Altea for $99 for the first month. (We usually charge $2,500 upfront for one year. But we’re feeling jolly.)
You’ll get access to all our best deals immediately, and a full month to decide if Altea is a good fit.
Win #2: The Launch Film Bridge Fund 🎬 (Altea)
Frankie Altea goes to Hollywood
Back in July, Altea member Chris Daniels burst into the community with a film investing opportunity our members couldn’t pass up.
It was a collateralized debt position in an upcoming Clive Owen film, yielding 15% over sixteen weeks (57% annualized).
It turns out that Chris was starting to get lots of these film financing deals — typically requiring $200k – $400k in funds, and yielding 8-16%. But each deal requires investors to move quickly. (Sound familiar? Speed is a common theme in this world!)
So we solved this by putting together a unique investment vehicle that can rapidly deploy and reinvest capital across dozens of film projects. And thus the Launch Film Bridge Fund was born.
Films in production
We are delighted to report that the fund is closed and capital has begun to be deployed!
Returns aren’t in yet, but it’s super exciting to watch these films unfold…
Night Comes
- Logline: Throughout recorded history, entire civilizations have mysteriously disappeared. For two sisters living in the modern day aftermath, daylight is their only refuge.
- Starring: Dafne Keane, Samantha Lorraine
- Directed by: Jay Hernandez (Suicide Squad, Magnum PI)
- Produced by: Shaun Reddick (Get Out)
Seville
- Logline: James ‘Thommo’ Thompson and his friends break his terminally ill ‘Uncle Davie’ from hospital and drive him from Glasgow to Spain, in the hope of attending the historical 2003 Celtic UEFA Cup Final against Porto.
- Starring: Toni Collette & James McAvoy
- Directed by: Catherine Hardwick (Twilight, Thirteen)
It’s Okay to Go Back to Sleep
- Logline: A neuroscientist tortured by sleep paralysis goes to extreme lengths to test his controversial device that could either reverse paralysis or kill the patient.
Kristallnacht
- Logline: Police lieutenant Krützfeld faces a moral test when a Jewish man is wrongly accused, sparking orders to attack Jewish neighborhoods. As chaos erupts, the lieutenant must decide between following orders or protecting the innocent.
- Starring: Clive Owen
- Directed by: Stefan Ruzowitzky
What’s next
As I mentioned, the first tranche of Film I is closed. We may open a second tranche in 2025 for Altea members.
Win #3: Decentralized Due Diligence 📝
If there’s one thing Wyatt and I love, it’s making deals.
It’s wonderful! Nothing beats the feeling of confidently saying “Yes” to a deal you’ve worked hard to research.
But remember, saying “No” to a deal is much more common, and far more important. So the third win we’re celebrating today isn’t about achieving gains, it’s about avoiding losses.
Both Wyatt and I have due diligence in our background. In a previous life I was the Head of Product at Flippa, where I created Flippa’s Due Diligence Program.
This due diligence was the beginning of the end for a firm called Hedonova.
A competitor goes down (and we helped..sort of)
Hedonova was an alternative investment fund offering access to a broad range of alternative assets. They are now under investigation by the SEC.
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Hedonova LLC and Hedonova Advisors LLC, Civil Action No. 2:24-cv-05293 (C.D. Cal. filed June 24, 2024)
You can read the full Litigation Release on the SEC website.
Our history with Hedonova
- At first, Hedonova wasn’t a competitor — they were a potential partner.
- Hedonova was going to make an investment into our ALTS 1 Fund, but they didn’t pass the standard KYC (Know Your Customer) check. We never accepted their investment.
- We had reason to believe that the founder of Hedonova, Neel Aryan Birla, was misrepresenting himself online.
- Specifically, we found out the photo he uses is not actually a photo of himself, but rather a common Internet stock photo. This was a huuuge red flag for us.
- We continued to research the company and found multiple red flags.
- In 2022 we published our first warning not to invest or do business with Hedonova.
As the Hedonova situation unfolded, we quickly realized we needed to establish a due diligence protocol to handle all the inbound dealflow we were getting.
Recently in our new Alts Community, member Jefferson Rumanyika (who you may recall from the issue on investing in Rwanda) asked about our process for evaluating deals.
What is our due diligence process?
Deep Dives
Deep Dives are in-depth issues on specific companies or investment opportunities.
It’s probably already obvious to anyone who has read one, but to be perfectly transparent, Deep Dives are paid articles! As always, we think (and hope) you find it informative and fair.
However, before accepting funds, we conduct an initial assessment of the company and their deals.
(Most newsletters don’t do a lick of vetting. I won’t name names, but even large, well-respected newsletters are “dialing it in” at best, and some have blindly promoted firms operating known ponzi schemes at worst. Reply if you want the juice.)
Altea
Here’s where it gets really interesting…
For Altea deals, Due diligence is not just performed by us here at Alts — it’s performed by fellow Altea community members with domain expertise.
See, before we spin up an Altea SPV, we pull in relevant experts from the community to help evaluate the risks and returns of deals.
For example, farmland investing expert Dr. Tigran K. analyzed the financials of AGRI Developments: A company investing in avocado plantations in the Philippines.
Based on his thorough research, we decided not to move forward on this deal. Recently, we issued a warning on the firm.
We call this concept Decentralized Due Diligence. The collaborative nature of our community ensures that each deal gets thoroughly vetted.
It’s another thing that sets us apart from every other run-of-the-mill financial newsletter.
What’s next?
We’ll continue to take due diligence very seriously.
We only publish warnings when we or a trusted Alts community member has had a direct, significantly negative experience with a firm.
Have you had a negative experience with an investment firm?
Let us know. We’ll warn the rest of the community and are happy to help.
Win #4: Deep research pays off 🚀
When we created the All-Access pass one year ago, the idea is that our very best content is just plain too valuable to give away for free.
So we decided to create a paid tier of the newsletter with top-notch research for serious investors. But this only works if we deliver value.
I’m happy to report that, after one year, we officially have receipts.
The biggest win was our issue on Destiny.
Destiny IPO
If you’re not familiar with the recent Destiny saga, you’ve missed a wild ride.
Back in February, we were one of the first to cover this company; exploring their idea to launch the world’s first ETF for pre-IPO secondaries.
It was the perfect mix of alternative and mainstream, which is why we were excited to help them launch on the NASDAQ, through a special Deep Dive for All-Access pass holders.
On March 26, $DXYZ stock opened at $9 per share. Shortly after publishing, Destiny’s stock (DXYZ) began to skyrocket, rising 10x in a matter of days (!)
Gains were beyond our expectations. This quote from John N. says it all:
“Thanks again for your DXYZ feature! I invested and paid for my entire Spain trip, as it cruised to the mid $90s from going public around $8-10/sh. That’s the kind of tax problem I like to have!”
– John N.
But the story doesn’t end there. There was a lot more going on behind the scenes that investors needed to understand.
Two months later Brian Flaherty published a private, paywalled issue on DXYZ’s post-launch journey.
In that issue we showed readers how the fund’s mechanics allowed the price to soar so high, and uncovered important stuff hidden deep in DXYZ’s public filings.
This follow-up has proven to be even more valuable than the original issue — especially given that DXYZ stock is once again flirting with highs..
Other wins
- Our issue on Entertainment Financing ultimately opened doors to the world of film bridge loan financing, and other alternatives to film equity.
- Investing in Uranium gave investors a terrific analysis of the bull vs bear case.
- In investing in Silver, Brian Flaherty once again dove into America’s silver reserve supply; how much is left to be withdrawn, and how long this supply is expected to last. This type of research is hugely beneficial to investors.
(Psst – The price of the All-Access Pass is going up on Jan 1. Get your pass now!)
But not all of our research is able to be published and emailed.
Which brings me to our final win for the year.
Win #5: Community launch 🤝
This is the perfect, logical next step for our company.
You’ll be hearing a lot more about the Alts Community in 2025. It features public + private spaces, chats, special offers, and perks for All-Access Pass holders.
For example, earlier this week, I posted a link to some important research we did on a mineral rights firm.
This research wasn’t able to be published, so we placed the research into a dedicated space.
How do I join?
We’ve begun rolling out invites in December and will continue throughout January.
All-Access Pass integration
Some community spaces are free, but others are restricted.
All-Access Pass holders can enjoy & participate in everything.
Price goes up Jan 1
We only raise prices when we add value.
With our new community, the value of the All-Access Pass is definitely going up, and so is the price.
Current price:
- $15/month
- $120/year
Price starting Jan 1, 2025
- $30/month
- $250/year
NOTE: This is your very last chance to lock in the current price forever.
Special thanks to you 🫵
That’s it for today!
But I want to close with a big thank you.
2024 was the year we became far more than a newsletter company. But newsletters are still core to who we are, and always will be. And that’s all thanks to you, dear reader.
There are very few companies doing what we do — and it’s partly because this stuff is so hard to do at scale. We’re carving a somewhat new path here.
We love it, we take pride in it, and we absolutely could not do any of it without you.
Reply with comments, or leave a note in the community. We read everything.
See you in 2025! 🥂 Stefan
