DrivenIQ Update
On August 15, 2022, Capstone Technologies Group (OTC: CATG) entered into an agreement to invest in DrivenIQ again to secure controlling interest. As an advisor to these transactions, Avenel has prepared a report breaking down the current state of DrivenIQ. DrivenIQ is an omni-data advertising technology focused on zero- and firstparty data in order to assist businesses who are advertising to their customers. Their services consist of website traffic analytics, text message marketing, social media solutions, geo-zoning technologies, VisitIQ™, DrivenIQIdentity Graph and DriveBid™.
The Co/Investor Club previously wrote the white paper DrivenIQ: Company Overview to explain the operations, future, and acquisition of Visitor Data Inc. by DrivenIQ. We recommend reading that overview before reading this paper.
Download DrivenIQ Update Paper
DrivenIQ Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding Backed by Capstone Technologies Group, Inc.
Adapt
“In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” —Eric Hoffer
In a short and direct speech on Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell let the world know that Whatever It Takes are still the marching orders that the Fed is operating by:
The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) overarching focus right now is to bring inflation back down to our 2 percent goal. Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve and serves as the bedrock of our economy. Without price stability, the economy does not work for anyone. In particular, without price stability, we will not achieve a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all. The burdens of high inflation fall heaviest on those who are least able to bear them.
Restoring price stability will take some time and requires using our tools forcefully to bring demand and supply into better balance. Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth. Moreover, there will very likely be some softening of labor market conditions. While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.
The markets, which had rallied a bit in July and early August on the hopes, dreams, and wishful thinking that there would be a Fed pivot, seemed to have gotten the message on Friday that there would be no pivot until inflation was under control. The major indices all fell over 3% after the speech, with the Dow, the best performer, falling more than 1,000 points.
As we wrote in June and think is worth repeating (and re-reading) here yet again:
If you had bet against the Fed being successful in 2008-2009, you probably lost money. They threw so much support and liquidity into the system that most asset prices rose for more than a decade. The Fed was willing to suspend free markets and price discovery to stop the deflation we were seeing back then. And they seem willing to suspend economic growth and bull markets to stop the inflation we’re seeing right now.
We don’t know whether the Fed, Treasury, Administration, Congress, business community, and/or the Jedi Order will be able to bring the current rate of inflation down to a lower and more acceptable level. But we do know that when Fed officials start using phrases like whatever it takes, one should pay attention.
The Fed has had the back of stock market investors since the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. If you’re investing like it is, you might be in for some (more) surprises.
“What was scattered gathers. What was gathered blows away.” —Heraclitus
The Fed helped piece together a scattered and broken financial system after the Financial Crisis, and both the Fed and Congress threw around money to keep the economy afloat during the Covid lockdowns we experienced in 2020. In turn, we had one of the all-time great bull market runs from March of 2009 until early 2022.
But then cracks started to show. And it appears that inflation might be the villain that steps on the head of our Humpty Dumpty economy and makes it more difficult to put back together again.
If you’ve lost money this year, remember that you don’t have to make it back the way you lost it. Flexibility and adaptability are key tenets in driving the evolution of nature, businesses, and the value of investment portfolios. And as we showed with the example of Walter Schloss last week, there are ways to make money through the up and down cycles of markets, economies, and investor psychology.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one more responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin
“When you work hard for something, protect it.” —Dale Earnhardt
DeLorean Alphas Club
The brand-new DeLorean Alpha5 EV made its public debut on August 18th at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegence car show. DeLorean is tapping into the power of NFTs and the Metaverse to sell its production run of 9,351 cars. Each car is tied to a unique NFT Digital Twin of the actual vehicle itself. The opportunity to own a digital twin and a production slot is accessed through the Alphas Club. Once a member of the Alphas club, you'll be able to buy, sell or trade your Production Slot NFT in our secure DeLorean marketplace. Other benefits of membership include:
◦ Early access to future DeLorean NFTs and collectibles
◦ Exclusive VIP live events for Alphas Club members only
◦ Participation in DeLorean Focus Groups
◦ Discounts and Deals with DeLorean partners
Tweets of the Week
In Case You Missed It…
Broyhill Asset Management’s Q2 Letter
How to Find 100 Baggers | Interview with Chris Mayer (video)
Richer, Wiser, Happier Podcast: Fear the Fed w/ Jim Grant
Yet Another Value Podcast: Jon Boyar on the Dolan Discounts
Masters in Business Podcast: Eric Balchunas on the Vanguard Effect
The Knowledge Project Podcast with Shane Parrish: #145 Les Snead: Building a Super Bowl Champion
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