Snapshots That Wow!

In the heat, we stop sipping!

The number of SIPs discontinued/completed went up sharply, this took up the discontinued to newly registered SIP ratio to above 100%.

New SIP: 56.19 lacs
Cancellations: 61.33 lacs
Net additions: -5.14 lacs

As the fall has intensified, Feb numbers might look much worse.

Source: AMFI

American Apocalypse?

Physical gold buying in the US has gone apocalyptic.

Gold inventories in the 3 largest COMEX gold vaults just surged by 15 MILLION ounces in 2 months.

That's a +115% increase, putting physical gold holdings ABOVE 2020 pandemic levels.

These are secure gold storage facilities approved by the Commodity Exchange (COMEX).

They are literally located under and around Manhattan, NY.

Source: Bloomberg, COMEX

Class never slows down

If one were to see the December quarter results for Hermes, one would not say that the world economy or any economy was going through an economic slowdown. Unlike peers such as LVMH, Gucci, Hermes reported a 15% growth in December quarter, with every geography reporting growth!

Source: Hermes Investor Presentation

In the long run, Growth is Life!

Reliance motto says it best- growth is life. In the long run, nothing is a better guarantee of gains in stock prices than revenue growth. Margin expansion beyond a point is not possible and typically attracts competition that drive it back down, and multiples cannot keep expanding. The key to long term value creation is sustaining a higher growth rate in the long term.

Source: Morgan Stanley

Bye bye entry level engineers!

Software developer jobs down 70% from peak.

The "entry-level engineer" doesn't exist anymore.

Instead, we have product builders who happen to code. Armed with AI, they ship entire products in days.

Source: FRED

The Shark Tank Impact?

There has been a step up in annual new business formation in the US to 5m new businesses a year!

Source: Shopify Investor Presentation