Bonds explained in 90 seconds! [Thread]

Wait, what's a bond?

Very simply, it's a loan.

Instead of borrowing money from a bank, a company (or government) will borrow from investors. So investors will give the company money & in exchange they get paid interest (called coupons)

Fancy term for the IOU is "bond issuance"

I'm an investor, how do the mechanics work?

Company sells you a bond for $100 and promises you 5% every year for 3 years. They also pay you $100 at the end.

Yr 1: $5
Yr 2: $5
Yr 3: $5 + $100

That's $115 (or a 15% return) after 3 years. Right?

The real return is closer to 10%

Why are my returns so much lower?

$100 today is worth more than $100 in 3 years from now - yes, inflation!

Even at a modest 1.5% inflation each year, the $100 you give up today is worth less than $96 in 3 years from now.

ILBs (inflation linked bonds) try & help solve this.

How come bonds are always quoted in yields (%s) instead of actual prices like shares?

Bonds have different maturities* & coupons - quoting a percentage makes it easy to compare different bonds & compare against other assets.

*Maturity = time to get paid back (3yrs in example)

You're about to invest in the next biggest company to list on the stock exchange. You dream of a luxury island & a private jet - but you end up eating canned food instead.

Here's a guide to the insider secrets of IPOs [Thread]

Hold on, what is an IPO? Indian Police Officer?

No, it's an Initial Public Offering

It's when a private company issues stock to the public to raise capital. Facebook, Airbnb & Apple are IPO companies

It's not just US companies. I worked on IPOs in London, Johannesburg & Lagos

"The Roadshow/ Marketing"

The IPO process can be long!

The company hires a few investment banks to go out & sell the story to investors. Think of it as a series of dates. Do you tell her you leave towels on the floor on the first date? No.

Investment banks sell the highlights

Pro-tip: NEVER invest into a company purely off the company roadshow materials. Having spent hours curating these docs - the wording is ALWAYS massaged.

Your go-to is the prospectus - the Bible for an IPO

Here's the Airbnb prospectus - check it

What should I be looking for in the prospectus?

Just like your cheating ex - don't focus on what he's saying, focus on what isn't being said.

- Forecasts: always take these with a pinch of salt
- Key risks: dry but important
- Why we need the money: MOST IMPORTANT!

Contemplating quitting your corporate job to become your own boss? [Thread]

Money

Making money is much easier when you have money. More importantly, having dry powder buys you time.

Starting with anything less than 6 months salary can be suicide. Bonus if you can get to a year saved up.

Flicking the switch on monetizing a new business isn't instant.

The fine print

Scrape through your employment contract to check for non-compete clauses, lock-in periods for approaching competitors, policy on recruiting existing employees.

Check what the notice period is, number of leave days you have to cash & how to transfer your pension.

IP

NEVER work on your personal business using a company device. Also resist the urge to send that sexy excel model to your personal email. Imagine chilling in Pollsmoor for a workbook.

Many companies run a check when you resign to check what you recently emailed & printed.

Skills

Level up as much as you can. Make a detailed checklist of everything you want to master before you bounce. Ideal skills are versatile, resilient and future-proof.

The more advanced your skills, the better your chances of someone paying you for those abilities.

Running a small company or need cash for your side hustle? Here's the ultimate capital raising guide [Thread]

Ways to raise capital:

1. Bootstrapping
2. Bank Debt
3. Working Capital/ Revolving Facilities
4. Angle Investors
5. Venture Capital
6. Private Equity
7. Crowdfunding
8. Government Agencies
9. Get a Business Partner
10. Funding competitions

1. Bootstrapping

The cheapest way of funding. Build the company with savings & family contributions. Privilege is a massive factor in getting off the ground.

Jeff Bezos' parents ploughed $245k into his e-commerce startup. Bill Gates' parents funded his founding company.

2. Bank Debt

Banks take credit risk which means they're often fucking conservative. They will focus on your ability to repay the debt & pricing depends on the probability of you defaulting*

*Pro-tip: don't use bank funding to frequent strip clubs, use shareholder money instead

3. Drawdown facilities

Probably the most underused, useful type of funding. You can borrow against the assets of your company for really cheap. Most companies have short-term liquidity issues

I have worked on deals where these type of facilities were used to buy small companies