26 “weird shit” investing ideas

"This is the best fucking conference of my life."

One participant of this week's inaugural "Weird Shit Investing" conference in New York couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

I wanted Weird Shit Investing to be about pitching investment ideas that are:

• Truly original.
• Rooted in independent thinking.
• Very lucrative (potentially!).
• Accessible to professional investors.
• Fun to learn about.

The outcome?

"Weird Shit Investing 2024 – The Manual", a summary of 26 "weird shit" investing ideas presented at this week's event in London and New York.

• Crisis investing?
• Banned investments?
• Unusual financing structures?
• Niche alternative assets?
• Niche, exotic markets?
• Very complex investment cases?

The manual covers it all – and all entirely for free, for subscribers of the Weekly Dispatches (a download link is included in the 14 June 2024 Weekly Dispatch email).

Some of the manual's highlights

It's difficult to pick favourites, but you really shouldn't miss the following:

• For a smart play on the US cannabis market with up to 4x upside, check out WM Technology (ISIN US92971A1097, Nasdaq: MAPS), written by a colleague who anonymously authors Clarke Square Capital. What makes this investment unconventional, or just a bit weird? There is a little-known quirk to US tax laws for the cannabis industry, which the Biden administration is racing to get changed as it's a vote winner. This USD 1 stock is worth checking out right now.
• Viel & Cie (ISIN FR0000050049, PA:VIL) is a French company that operates in the weird, discrete and profitable niche of InterDealer Intermediation. This market is not mediatised and has three key players with more than 80% market share. Even most European small-cap sleuths won't have heard of this one yet. Over the long term, Viel's main asset, Compagnie Financière Tradition, had a total return of 17.4% p.a. with dividends reinvested since 1 January 1997. Today, the stock of Viel is trading with a 41% discount to NAV.
• Ever wondered how you could invest in the lucrative Lloyd's of London insurance market? It's a complex market, and becoming a so-called "name" is not an easy undertaking. However, there is ONE little-followed small-cap stock in London, Helios Underwriting (ISIN GB00B23XLS45, UK:HUW) which is a de facto investment fund that gives you exposure to Lloyd's of London. The company buys up so-called freehold capacity in insurance syndicates from ageing "names" (and their heirs). Yours truly presented this weird and unusual case, and you can even download the entire presentation.

A PowerPoint deck never quite lives up to seeing such presentations delivered in person, but quite a few of the presenters generously offered to make their decks available by download or by request.

All further details are included in the manual.

What next for Weird Shit Investing?

The inaugural conference was always going to be a bit of an experiment.

• Would there be demand to attend?
• Was I going to find enough speakers?
• Did I choose the right format?

Following a busy week of hosting this event in London on Tuesday and in New York on Thursday, I've got learnings aplenty.

Will I host this again? I certainly will! In 2025, we will be back in London and New York, and possibly Hong Kong.

Check out www.weirdshitinvesting.com for more details.

You won't find any photos there, though. We made this, in essence, a "no social media" conference. We only posted this shot of myself at the London event, and this shot of the vibe in New York.

If you feel you have something to say that would make you the right speaker for such a gathering of minds, then do get in touch with a few sentences about yourself.

In the meantime, enjoy your free Weird Shit Investing Manual!

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