Fascinated by the emergence of a new asset class but unsure how to make sense of it, Charlie Morris and Mark Griffiths joined forces in 2013 with the aim of analysing the Bitcoin blockchain. Charlie was a multi-asset fund manager at HSBC at the time, and Mark a highly experienced, award-winning full-stack developer.
Their first principle was to deliver reliable and trustworthy data. If data is unsound, then so is every conclusion that springs from it. Charlie’s investment process, whether in traditional markets or crypto, has always been underpinned by meticulous attention to what the data is saying and blocking out the noise. Mark was the perfect person to extract the data and interpret it. That first principle of delivering trust and competence has remained integral to our journey since.
ByteTree launched in 2018, and our research stands out as it embraces the old world with the new. We cover traditional assets, including equities, bonds, FX and commodities, alongside the new world of crypto. We believe the world is changing, and we aim to change with it.
How investing has changed
Around 8.3 million people in the UK have savings portfolios of £10,000 or more. Savers typically manage their liquid savings in one of two ways. They either put money on deposit in a bank or entrust it to a financial adviser to allocate into funds, bonds and equities on their behalf. Often it is a combination of both.
We believe there is a better way:
First, with bank deposit rates at extremely low levels, depositing money in the bank is a guaranteed way to erode the real value of your wealth. This is especially true when inflation is running hot.
Secondly, modern technology means that it is much easier to manage your own portfolios. Platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell enable anyone to create a savings pool and run it themselves. Investors no longer have to give away a fixed percentage of their savings in fees every year to a middle-man.
Portfolio construction is a skill. It takes deep knowledge of the vast array of financial instruments and how they behave under different economic circumstances. It takes discipline to hold different assets in the appropriate quantity. It takes a rigorous process to do things differently from the crowd. It takes an understanding of how to manage risk.
The 21st century has enabled the private investor to become ever more empowered. There is access to a wide range of securities, at low cost, across many different investment platforms. You can choose from thousands of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or even more active funds. There are over 50,000+ listed companies, 10,000+ crypto tokens, 100+ currencies, a handful of commodities and over a million different bonds.
Why subscribe?
All this choice is progress, but with it comes confusion. With so many possibilities and outcomes in financial markets, our newsletters will help you gain a deeper understanding of how the markets work and give you the tools to navigate them.
Disclaimer
Your capital is at risk. Our newsletters are for informational purposes only and in no way constitute investment advice.
