Hello, dummies
It's your old pal, Fuzzy.
As I'm sure you've all noticed, a lot of the stuff that gets posted here is - to put it delicately - fucking ridiculous. More backwards-ass shit gets posted to wallstreetbets than you'd see on a Westboro Baptist community message board. I mean, I had a look at the daily thread yesterday and..... yeesh. I know, I know. We all make like the divine Laura Dern circa 1992 on the daily and stick our hands deep into this steaming heap of shit to find the nuggets of valuable and/or hilarious information within (thanks for reading, BTW). I agree. I love it just the way it is too. That's what makes WSB great.
What I'm getting at is that a lot of the stuff that gets posted here - notwithstanding it being funny or interesting - is just... wrong. Like, fucking your cousin wrong. And to be clear, I mean the fucking your *first* cousin kinda wrong, before my Southerners in the back get all het up (simmer down, Billy Ray - I know Mabel's twice removed on your grand-sister's side). Truly, I try to let it slide. I do my bit to try and put you on the right path. Most of the time, I sleep easy no matter how badly I've seen someone explain what a bank liquidity crisis is. But out of all of those tens of thousands of misguided, autistic attempts at understanding the world of high finance, one thing gets so consistently - so *emphatically* - fucked up and misunderstood by you retards that last night I felt obligated at the end of a long work day to pull together this edition of Finance with Fuzzy just for you. It's so serious I'm not even going to make a u/pokimane gag. Have you guessed what it is yet? Here's a clue. It's in the title of the post.
That's right, friends. Today in the neighborhood we're going to talk all about hedging in financial markets - spots, swaps, collars, forwards, CDS, synthetic CDOs, all that fun shit. Don't worry; I'm going to explain what all the scary words mean and how they impact your OTM RH positions along the way.
We're going to break it down like this. (1) "What's a hedge, Fuzzy?" (2) Common Hedging Strategies and (3) All About ISDAs and Credit Default Swaps.
Before we begin. For the nerds and JV traders in the back (and anyone else who needs to hear this up front) - I am simplifying these descriptions for the purposes of this post. I am also obviously not going to try and cover every exotic form of hedge under the sun or give a detailed summation of what caused the financial crisis. If you are interested in something specific ask a question, but don't try and impress me with your Investopedia skills or technical points I didn't cover; I will just be forced to flex my years of IRL experience on you in the comments and you'll look like a big dummy.
TL;DR? Fuck you. There is no TL;DR. You've come this far already. What's a few more paragraphs? Put down the Cheetos and try to concentrate for the next 5-7 minutes. You'll learn something, and I promise I'll be gentle.
Ready? Let's get started.
1. The Tao of Risk: Hedging as a Way of Life
The simplest way to characterize what a hedge 'is' is to imagine every action having a binary outcome. One is bad, one is good. Red lines, green lines; uppie, downie. With me so far? Good. A 'hedge' is simply the employment of a strategy to mitigate the effect of your action having the wrong binary outcome. You wanted X, but you got Z! Frowny face. A hedge strategy introduces a third outcome. If you hedged against the possibility of Z happening, then you can wind up with Y instead. Not as good as X, but not as bad as Z. The technical definition I like to give my idiot juniors is as follows:
Utilization of a defensive strategy to mitigate risk, at a fraction of the cost to capital of the risk itself.
Congratulations. You just finished Hedging 101. "But Fuzzy, that's easy! I just sold a naked call against my 95% OTM put! I'm adequately hedged!". Spoiler alert: you're not (although good work on executing a collar, which I describe below). What I'm talking about here is what would be referred to as a 'perfect hedge'; a binary outcome where downside is totally mitigated by a risk management strategy. That's not how it works IRL. Pay attention; this is the tricky part.
You can't take a single position and conclude that you're adequately hedged because risks are fluid, not static. So you need to constantly adjust your position in order to maximize the value of the hedge and insure your position. You also need to consider exposure to more than one category of risk. There are micro (specific exposure) risks, and macro (trend exposure) risks, and both need to factor into the hedge calculus.
That's why, in the real world, the value of hedging depends entirely on the design of the hedging strategy itself. Here, when we say "value" of the hedge, we're not talking about cash money - we're talking about the intrinsic value of the hedge relative to the the risk profile of your underlying exposure. To achieve this, people hedge dynamically. In wallstreetbets terms, this means that as the value of your position changes, you need to change your hedges too. The idea is to efficiently and continuously distribute and rebalance risk across different states and periods, taking value from states in which the marginal cost of the hedge is low and putting it back into states where marginal cost of the hedge is high, until the shadow value of your underlying exposure is equalized across your positions. The punchline, I guess, is that one static position is a hedge in the same way that the finger paintings you make for your wife's boyfriend are art - it's technically correct, but you're only playing yourself by believing it.
Anyway. Obviously doing this as a small potatoes trader is hard but it's worth taking into account. Enough basic shit. So how does this work in markets?
2. A Hedging Taxonomy
The best place to start here is a practical question. What does a business need to hedge against? Think about the specific risk that an individual business faces. These are legion, so I'm just going to list a few of the key ones that apply to most corporates. (1) You have commodity risk for the shit you buy or the shit you use. (2) You have currency risk for the money you borrow. (3) You have rate risk on the debt you carry. (4) You have offtake risk for the shit you sell. Complicated, right? To help address the many and varied ways that shit can go wrong in a sophisticated market, smart operators like yours truly have devised a whole bundle of different instruments which can help you manage the risk. I might write about some of the more complicated ones in a later post if people are interested (CDO/CLOs, strip/stack hedges and bond swaps with option toggles come to mind) but let's stick to the basics for now.
(i) Swaps
A swap is one of the most common forms of hedge instrument, and they're used by pretty much everyone that can afford them. The language is complicated but the concept isn't, so pay attention and you'll be fine. This is the most important part of this section so it'll be the longest one.
Swaps are derivative contracts with two counterparties (before you ask, you can't trade 'em on an exchange - they're OTC instruments only). They're used to exchange one cash flow for another cash flow of equal expected value; doing this allows you to take speculative positions on certain financial prices or to alter the cash flows of existing assets or liabilities within a business. "Wait, Fuzz; slow down! What do you mean sets of cash flows?". Fear not, little autist. Ol' Fuzz has you covered.
The cash flows I'm talking about are referred to in swap-land as 'legs'. One leg is fixed - a set payment that's the same every time it gets paid - and the other is variable - it fluctuates (typically indexed off the price of the underlying risk that you are speculating on / protecting against). You set it up at the start so that they're notionally equal and the two legs net off; so at open, the swap is a zero NPV instrument. Here's where the fun starts. If the price that you based the variable leg of the swap on changes, the value of the swap will shift; the party on the wrong side of the move ponies up via the variable payment. It's a zero sum game.
I'll give you an example using the most vanilla swap around; an interest rate trade. Here's how it works. You borrow money from a bank, and they charge you a rate of interest. You lock the rate up front, because you're smart like that. But then - quelle surprise! - the rate gets better after you borrow. Now you're bagholding to the tune of, I don't know, 5 bps. Doesn't sound like much but on a billion dollar loan that's a lot of money (a classic example of the kind of 'small, deep hole' that's terrible for profits). Now, if you had a swap contract on the rate before you entered the trade, you're set; if the rate goes down, you get a payment under the swap. If it goes up, whatever payment you're making to the bank is netted off by the fact that you're borrowing at a sub-market rate. Win-win! Or, at least, Lose Less / Lose Less. That's the name of the game in hedging.
There are many different kinds of swaps, some of which are pretty exotic; but they're all different variations on the same theme. If your business has exposure to something which fluctuates in price, you trade swaps to hedge against the fluctuation. The valuation of swaps is also super interesting but I guarantee you that 99% of you won't understand it so I'm not going to try and explain it here although I encourage you to google it if you're interested.
Because they're OTC, none of them are filed publicly. Someeeeeetimes you see an ISDA (dsicussed below) but the confirms themselves (the individual swaps) are not filed. You can usually read about the hedging strategy in a 10-K, though. For what it's worth, most modern credit agreements ban speculative hedging. Top tip: This is occasionally something worth checking in credit agreements when you invest in businesses that are debt issuers - being able to do this increases the risk profile significantly and is particularly important in times of economic volatility (ctrl+f "non-speculative" in the credit agreement to be sure).
(ii) Forwards
A forward is a contract made today for the future delivery of an asset at a pre-agreed price. That's it. "But Fuzzy! That sounds just like a futures contract!". I know. Confusing, right? Just like a futures trade, forwards are generally used in commodity or forex land to protect against price fluctuations. The differences between forwards and futures are small but significant. I'm not going to go into super boring detail because I don't think many of you are commodities traders but it is still an important thing to understand even if you're just an RH jockey, so stick with me.
Just like swaps, forwards are OTC contracts - they're not publicly traded. This is distinct from futures, which are traded on exchanges (see The Ballad Of Big Dick Vick for some more color on this). In a forward, no money changes hands until the maturity date of the contract when delivery and receipt are carried out; price and quantity are locked in from day 1. As you now know having read about BDV, futures are marked to market daily, and normally people close them out with synthetic settlement using an inverse position. They're also liquid, and that makes them easier to unwind or close out in case shit goes sideways.
People use forwards when they absolutely have to get rid of the thing they made (or take delivery of the thing they need). If you're a miner, or a farmer, you use this shit to make sure that at the end of the production cycle, you can get rid of the shit you made (and you won't get fucked by someone taking cash settlement over delivery). If you're a buyer, you use them to guarantee that you'll get whatever the shit is that you'll need at a price agreed in advance. Because they're OTC, you can also exactly tailor them to the requirements of your particular circumstances.
These contracts are incredibly byzantine (and there are even crazier synthetic forwards you can see in money markets for the true degenerate fund managers). In my experience, only Texan oilfield magnates, commodities traders, and the weirdo forex crowd fuck with them. I (i) do not own a 10 gallon hat or a novelty size belt buckle (ii) do not wake up in the middle of the night freaking out about the price of pork fat and (iii) love greenbacks too much to care about other countries' monopoly money, so I don't fuck with them.
(iii) Collars
No, not the kind your wife is encouraging you to wear try out to 'spice things up' in the bedroom during quarantine. Collars are actually the hedging strategy most applicable to WSB. Collars deal with options! Hooray!
To execute a basic collar (also called a wrapper by tea-drinking Brits and people from the Antipodes), you buy an out of the money put while simultaneously writing a covered call on the same equity. The put protects your position against price drops and writing the call produces income that offsets the put premium. Doing this limits your tendies (you can only profit up to the strike price of the call) but also writes down your risk. If you screen large volume trades with a VOL/OI of more than 3 or 4x (and they're not bullshit biotech stocks), you can sometimes see these being constructed in real time as hedge funds protect themselves on their shorts.
(3) All About ISDAs, CDS and Synthetic CDOs
You may have heard about the mythical ISDA. Much like an indenture (discussed in my post on $F), it's a magic legal machine that lets you build swaps via trade confirms with a willing counterparty. They are very complicated legal documents and you need to be a true expert to fuck with them. Fortunately, I am, so I do. They're made of two parts; a Master (which is a form agreement that's always the same) and a Schedule (which amends the Master to include your specific terms). They are also the engine behind just about every major credit crunch of the last 10+ years.
First - a brief explainer. An ISDA is a not in and of itself a hedge - it's an umbrella contract that governs the terms of your swaps, which you use to construct your hedge position. You can trade commodities, forex, rates, whatever, all under the same ISDA.
Let me explain. Remember when we talked about swaps? Right. So. You can trade swaps on just about anything. In the late 90s and early 2000s, people had the smart idea of using other people's debt and or credit ratings as the variable leg of swap documentation. These are called credit default swaps. I was actually starting out at a bank during this time and, I gotta tell you, the only thing I can compare people's enthusiasm for this shit to was that moment in your early teens when you discover jerking off. Except, unlike your bathroom bound shame sessions to Mom's Sears catalogue, every single person you know felt that way too; and they're all doing it at once. It was a fiscal circlejerk of epic proportions, and the financial crisis was the inevitable bukkake finish. WSB autism is absolutely no comparison for the enthusiasm people had during this time for lighting each other's money on fire.
Here's how it works. You pick a company. Any company. Maybe even your own! And then you write a swap. In the swap, you define "Credit Event" with respect to that company's debt as the variable leg . And you write in... whatever you want. A ratings downgrade, default under the docs, failure to meet a leverage ratio or FCCR for a certain testing period... whatever. Now, this started out as a hedge position, just like we discussed above. The purest of intentions, of course. But then people realized - if bad shit happens, you make money. And banks... don't like calling in loans or forcing bankruptcies. Can you smell what the moral hazard is cooking?
Enter synthetic CDOs. CDOs are basically pools of asset backed securities that invest in debt (loans or bonds). They've been around for a minute but they got famous in the 2000s because a shitload of them containing subprime mortgage debt went belly up in 2008. This got a lot of publicity because a lot of sad looking rednecks got foreclosed on and were interviewed on CNBC. "OH!", the people cried. "Look at those big bad bankers buying up subprime loans! They caused this!". Wrong answer, America. The debt wasn't the problem. What a lot of people don't realize is that the real meat of the problem was not in regular way CDOs investing in bundles of shit mortgage debts in synthetic CDOs investing in CDS predicated on that debt. They're synthetic because they don't have a stake in the actual underlying debt; just the instruments riding on the coattails. The reason these are so popular (and remain so) is that smart structured attorneys and bankers like your faithful correspondent realized that an even more profitable and efficient way of building high yield products with limited downside was investing in instruments that profit from failure of debt and in instruments that rely on that debt and then hedging that exposure with other CDS instruments in paired trades, and on and on up the chain. The problem with doing this was that everyone wound up exposed to everybody else's books as a result, and when one went tits up, everybody did. Hence, recession, Basel III, etc. Thanks, Obama.
Heavy investment in CDS can also have a warping effect on the price of debt (something else that happened during the pre-financial crisis years and is starting to happen again now). This happens in three different ways. (1) Investors who previously were long on the debt hedge their position by selling CDS protection on the underlying, putting downward pressure on the debt price. (2) Investors who previously shorted the debt switch to buying CDS protection because the relatively illiquid debt (partic. when its a bond) trades at a discount below par compared to the CDS. The resulting reduction in short selling puts upward pressure on the bond price. (3) The delta in price and actual value of the debt tempts some investors to become NBTs (neg basis traders) who long the debt and purchase CDS protection. If traders can't take leverage, nothing happens to the price of the debt. If basis traders can take leverage (which is nearly always the case because they're holding a hedged position), they can push up or depress the debt price, goosing swap premiums etc. Anyway. Enough technical details.
I could keep going. This is a fascinating topic that is very poorly understood and explained, mainly because the people that caused it all still work on the street and use the same tactics today (it's also terribly taught at business schools because none of the teachers were actually around to see how this played out live). But it relates to the topic of today's lesson, so I thought I'd include it here.
Work depending, I'll be back next week with a covenant breakdown. Most upvoted ticker gets the post.
*EDIT 1\* In a total blowout, $PLAY won. So it's D&B time next week. Post will drop Monday at market open.

I was trying to find the lowest cost brokers that aren’t just mobile apps that offer passive investments in the assets I’m looking for on top of the usual equity and bonds I already have.
I’m hoping this will help people in my situation. I looked for a comparison website and found: https://brokerchooser.com/ which helped but I still had to dig around to get the direct comparison I needed all in one easily visible table.
What are your thoughts and experiences on the below brokers like customer service etc with these platforms?
Trading212 looks to be the cheapest and best all round but I’ve read bad experiences.
To diversify my portfolio I’m looking at:

1. Renewables funds,
2. Commodities,
3. Individual shares and Crypto (a very small gamble 1% of total)
4. Property dev/REITs,
5. Venture capital,
6. Higher risk corporate Bonds,

1 - 4 Can be invested in via ETF’s offered by most of the online brokers below.
4 - 5 Can be invested in using the other platforms below: Crowdcube, Seedrs, Syndicate room, Crowdproperty.
1 and 6 I think need higher cost traditional brokers like HL/Black rock etc but I’m not sure.
Here’s my comparison:

	Free trades per month	Products	Fees (deposit etc)	FCA Regulated?	Bank transfer or debit card?
Trading 212	Unlimited	Stocks ETF/ETCs Forex Crypto ISA	Free ISA, no trade fees, CFD account has charges inc: 0.5% currency conversion charge, no forex fees	Yes	Debit card: Yes - Bank transfer: Yes
TD Ameritrade	Unlimited	$0 for US stock $6.95 for non-US	Cannot find on FCA register	Cannot find on FCA register
eToro	Unlimited	Stocks ETF/ETCs Forex Crypto Commodities via CFD’s No ISA	- $5 withdrawal fee - Deposit and withdrawal fee of 0.5% - exchange fee (50 pips) 0.5cent/$1 e.g $7.5 on $500 - If no activity for 12 months charged $10 per month - 0.75% fee to buy bitcoin	Yes	Debit card: Yes - Bank transfer: No
Freetrade	Unlimited	Mobile app only Stocks ETFs ISA	ISA £3/month 0.90% forex fee	Yes	Debit card: No - Bank transfer: Yes
Revolut	3	Mobile app only Stocks Crypto Commodities No ISA	Complex fee structure	Yes	Debit card: Yes - Bank transfer: Yes
Degiro	Unlimited	Stocks ETF Funds Bonds Options Futures Crypto No ISA	High fees (complex structure)	Yes	Debit card: No - Bank transfer: Yes

Other investment platforms:
​

	Investment type	Fees (deposit etc)	FCA Regulated?	Pre-emption rights?
Crowd cube	Venture capital	1.5%	Yes	No
Syndicate Room	Venture capital	High fees 2% set up fee 1.5% – 2.3% annual 20% performance fee Life-time management fees of between 12.5% and 24.3%	Yes	Yes
Seedrs	Venture capital	7.5% of any profit Plus variable sale fees	Yes	Yes
Crowd property	Property	0% fees however returns capped at 8%.	Yes	N/A

​
Have you used any of these before or do you have alternatives?
​

This is an updated copy of the version on BadHistory. I plan to update it in accordance with the feedback I got.
I'd like to thank two people who will remain anonymous for helping me greatly with this post (you know who you are)
Three years ago a festschrift for Binay Bhushan Chaudhuri was published by Shubhra Chakrabarti, a history teacher at the University of Delhi and Utsa Patnaik, a Marxist economist who taught at JNU until 2010.
One of the essays in the festschirt by Utsa Patnaik was an attempt to quantify the "drain" undergone by India during British Rule. Her conclusion? Britain robbed India of $45 trillion (or £9.2 trillion) during their 200 or so years of rule. This figure was immensely popular, and got republished in several major news outlets (here, here, here, here (they get the number wrong) and more recently here), got a mention from the Minister of External Affairs & returns 29,100 results on Google. There's also plenty of references to it here on Reddit.
Patnaik is not the first to calculate such a figure. Angus Maddison thought it was £100 million, Simon Digby said £1 billion, Javier Estaban said £40 million see Roy (2019). The huge range of figures should set off some alarm bells.
So how did Patnaik calculate this (shockingly large) figure? Well, even though I don't have access to the festschrift, she conveniently has written an article detailing her methodology here. Let's have a look.

How exactly did the British manage to diddle us and drain our wealth’ ? was the question that Basudev Chatterjee (later editor of a volume in the Towards Freedom project) had posed to me 50 years ago when we were fellow-students abroad.

This is begging the question.

After decades of research I find that using India’s commodity export surplus as the measure and applying an interest rate of 5%, the total drain from 1765 to 1938, compounded up to 2016, comes to £9.2 trillion; since $4.86 exchanged for £1 those days, this sum equals about $45 trillion.

This is completely meaningless. To understand why it's meaningless consider India's annual coconut exports. These are almost certainly a surplus but the surplus in trade is countered by the other country buying the product (indeed, by definition, trade surpluses contribute to the GDP of a nation which hardly plays into intuitive conceptualisations of drain).
Furthermore, Dewey (2019) critiques the 5% interest rate.

She [Patnaik] consistently adopts statistical assumptions (such as compound interest at a rate of 5% per annum over centuries) that exaggerate the magnitude of the drain

Moving on:

The exact mechanism of drain, or transfers from India to Britain was quite simple.

Convenient.

Drain theory possessed the political merit of being easily grasped by a nation of peasants. [...] No other idea could arouse people than the thought that they were being taxed so that others in far off lands might live in comfort. [...] It was, therefore, inevitable that the drain theory became the main staple of nationalist political agitation during the Gandhian era.

- Chandra et al. (1989)

The key factor was Britain’s control over our taxation revenues combined with control over India’s financial gold and forex earnings from its booming commodity export surplus with the world. Simply put, Britain used locally raised rupee tax revenues to pay for its net import of goods, a highly abnormal use of budgetary funds not seen in any sovereign country.

The issue with figures like these is they all make certain methodological assumptions that are impossible to prove. From Roy in Frankema et al. (2019):

the "drain theory" of Indian poverty cannot be tested with evidence, for several reasons. First, it rests on the counterfactual that any money saved on account of factor payments abroad would translate into domestic investment, which can never be proved. Second, it rests on "the primitive notion that all payments to foreigners are "drain"", that is, on the assumption that these payments did not contribute to domestic national income to the equivalent extent (Kumar 1985, 384; see also Chaudhuri 1968). Again, this cannot be tested. [...] Fourth, while British officers serving India did receive salaries that were many times that of the average income in India, a paper using cross-country data shows that colonies with better paid officers were governed better (Jones 2013).

Indeed, drain theory rests on some very weak foundations. This, in of itself, should be enough to dismiss any of the other figures that get thrown out. Nonetheless, I felt it would be a useful exercise to continue exploring Patnaik's take on drain theory.

The East India Company from 1765 onwards allocated every year up to one-third of Indian budgetary revenues net of collection costs, to buy a large volume of goods for direct import into Britain, far in excess of that country’s own needs.

So what's going on here? Well Roy (2019) explains it better:

Colonial India ran an export surplus, which, together with foreign investment, was used to pay for services purchased from Britain. These payments included interest on public debt, salaries, and pensions paid to government offcers who had come from Britain, salaries of managers and engineers, guaranteed profts paid to railway companies, and repatriated business profts. How do we know that any of these payments involved paying too much? The answer is we do not.

So what was really happening is the government was paying its workers for services (as well as guaranteeing profits - to promote investment - something the GoI does today Dalal (2019), and promoting business in India), and those workers were remitting some of that money to Britain. This is hardly a drain (unless, of course, Indian diaspora around the world today are "draining" it). In some cases, the remittances would take the form of goods (as described) see Chaudhuri (1983):

It is obvious that these debit items were financed through the export surplus on merchandise account, and later, when railway construction started on a large scale in India, through capital import. Until 1833 the East India Company followed a cumbersome method in remitting the annual home charges. This was to purchase export commodities in India out of revenue, which were then shipped to London and the proceeds from their sale handed over to the home treasury.

While Roy's earlier point argues better paid officers governed better, it is honestly impossible to say what part of the repatriated export surplus was a drain, and what was not. However calling all of it a drain is definitely misguided.
It's worth noting that Patnaik seems to make no attempt to quantify the benefits of the Raj either, Dewey (2019)'s 2nd criticism:

she [Patnaik] consistently ignores research that would tend to cut the economic impact of the drain down to size, such as the work on the sources of investment during the industrial revolution (which shows that industrialisation was financed by the ploughed-back profits of industrialists) or the costs of empire school (which stresses the high price of imperial defence)

​

Since tropical goods were highly prized in other cold temperate countries which could never produce them, in effect these free goods represented international purchasing power for Britain which kept a part for its own use and re-exported the balance to other countries in Europe and North America against import of food grains, iron and other goods in which it was deficient.

Re-exports necessarily adds value to goods when the goods are processed and when the goods are transported. The country with the largest navy at the time would presumably be in very good stead to do the latter.

The British historians Phyllis Deane and WA Cole presented an incorrect estimate of Britain’s 18th-19th century trade volume, by leaving out re-exports completely. I found that by 1800 Britain’s total trade was 62% higher than their estimate, on applying the correct definition of trade including re-exports, that is used by the United Nations and by all other international organisations.

While interesting, and certainly expected for such an old book, re-exporting necessarily adds value to goods.

When the Crown took over from the Company, from 1861 a clever system was developed under which all of India’s financial gold and forex earnings from its fast-rising commodity export surplus with the world, was intercepted and appropriated by Britain. As before up to a third of India’s rising budgetary revenues was not spent domestically but was set aside as ‘expenditure abroad’.

So, what does this mean? Britain appropriated all of India's earnings, and then spent a third of it aboard? Not exactly. She is describing home charges see Roy (2019) again:

Some of the expenditures on defense and administration were made in sterling and went out of the country. This payment by the government was known as the Home Charges. For example, interest payment on loans raised to finance construction of railways and irrigation works, pensions paid to retired officers, and purchase of stores, were payments in sterling. [...] almost all money that the government paid abroad corresponded to the purchase of a service from abroad. [...] The balance of payments system that emerged after 1800 was based on standard business principles. India bought something and paid for it. State revenues were used to pay for wages of people hired abroad, pay for interest on loans raised abroad, and repatriation of profits on foreign investments coming into India. These were legitimate market transactions.

Indeed, if paying for what you buy is drain, then several billions of us are drained every day.

The Secretary of State for India in Council, based in London, invited foreign importers to deposit with him the payment (in gold, sterling and their own currencies) for their net imports from India, and these gold and forex payments disappeared into the yawning maw of the SoS’s account in the Bank of England.

It should be noted that India having two heads was beneficial, and encouraged investment per Roy (2019):

The fact that the India Office in London managed a part of the monetary system made India creditworthy, stabilized its currency, and encouraged foreign savers to put money into railways and private enterprise in India. Current research on the history of public debt shows that stable and large colonies found it easier to borrow abroad than independent economies because the investors trusted the guarantee of the colonist powers.

​

Against India’s net foreign earnings he issued bills, termed Council bills (CBs), to an equivalent rupee value. The rate (between gold-linked sterling and silver rupee) at which the bills were issued, was carefully adjusted to the last farthing, so that foreigners would never find it more profitable to ship financial gold as payment directly to Indians, compared to using the CB route. Foreign importers then sent the CBs by post or by telegraph to the export houses in India, that via the exchange banks were paid out of the budgeted provision of sums under ‘expenditure abroad’, and the exporters in turn paid the producers (peasants and artisans) from whom they sourced the goods.

Sunderland (2013) argues CBs had two main roles (and neither were part of a grand plot to keep gold out of India):

Council bills had two roles. They firstly promoted trade by handing the IO some control of the rate of exchange and allowing the exchange banks to remit funds to India and to hedge currency transaction risks. They also enabled the Indian government to transfer cash to England for the payment of its UK commitments.

​

The United Nations (1962) historical data for 1900 to 1960, show that for three decades up to 1928 (and very likely earlier too) India posted the second highest merchandise export surplus in the world, with USA in the first position. Not only were Indians deprived of every bit of the enormous international purchasing power they had earned over 175 years, even its rupee equivalent was not issued to them since not even the colonial government was credited with any part of India’s net gold and forex earnings against which it could issue rupees. The sleight-of-hand employed, namely ‘paying’ producers out of their own taxes, made India’s export surplus unrequited and constituted a tax-financed drain to the metropolis, as had been correctly pointed out by those highly insightful classical writers, Dadabhai Naoroji and RCDutt.

It doesn't appear that others appreciate their insight Roy (2019):

K. N. Chaudhuri rightly calls such practice ‘confused’ economics ‘coloured by political feelings’.

​

Surplus budgets to effect such heavy tax-financed transfers had a severe employment–reducing and income-deflating effect: mass consumption was squeezed in order to release export goods. Per capita annual foodgrains absorption in British India declined from 210 kg. during the period 1904-09, to 157 kg. during 1937-41, and to only 137 kg by 1946.

Dewey (1978) points out reliability issues with Indian agriculutural statistics, however this calorie decline persists to this day. Some of it is attributed to less food being consumed at home Smith (2015), a lower infectious disease burden Duh & Spears (2016) and diversified diets Vankatesh et al. (2016).

If even a part of its enormous foreign earnings had been credited to it and not entirely siphoned off, India could have imported modern technology to build up an industrial structure as Japan was doing.

This is, unfortunately, impossible to prove. Had the British not arrived in India, there is no clear indication that India would've united (this is arguably more plausible than the given counterfactual¹). Had the British not arrived in India, there is no clear indication India would not have been nuked in WW2, much like Japan. Had the British not arrived in India, there is no clear indication India would not have been invaded by lizard people, much like Japan. The list continues eternally.
Nevertheless, I will charitably examine the given counterfactual anyway. Did pre-colonial India have industrial potential? The answer is a resounding no.
From Gupta (1980):

This article starts from the premise that while economic categories - the extent of commodity production, wage labour, monetarisation of the economy, etc - should be the basis for any analysis of the production relations of pre-British India, it is the nature of class struggles arising out of particular class alignments that finally gives the decisive twist to social change. Arguing on this premise, and analysing the available evidence, this article concludes that there was little potential for industrial revolution before the British arrived in India because, whatever might have been the character of economic categories of that period, the class relations had not sufficiently matured to develop productive forces and the required class struggle for a 'revolution' to take place.

A view echoed in Raychaudhuri (1983):

Yet all of this did not amount to an economic situation comparable to that of western Europe on the eve of the industrial revolution. Her technology - in agriculture as well as manufacturers - had by and large been stagnant for centuries. [...] The weakness of the Indian economy in the mid-eighteenth century, as compared to pre-industrial Europe was not simply a matter of technology and commercial and industrial organization. No scientific or geographical revolution formed part of the eighteenth-century Indian's historical experience. [...] Spontaneous movement towards industrialisation is unlikely in such a situation.

So now we've established India did not have industrial potential, was India similar to Japan just before the Meiji era? The answer, yet again, unsurprisingly, is no. Japan's economic situation was not comparable to India's, which allowed for Japan to finance its revolution. From Yasuba (1986):

All in all, the Japanese standard of living may not have been much below the English standard of living before industrialization, and both of them may have been considerably higher than the Indian standard of living. We can no longer say that Japan started from a pathetically low economic level and achieved a rapid or even "miraculous" economic growth. Japan's per capita income was almost as high as in Western Europe before industrialization, and it was possible for Japan to produce surplus in the Meiji Period to finance private and public capital formation.

The circumstances that led to Meiji Japan were extremely unique. See Tomlinson (1985):

Most modern comparisons between India and Japan, written by either Indianists or Japanese specialists, stress instead that industrial growth in Meiji Japan was the product of unique features that were not reproducible elsewhere. [...] it is undoubtably true that Japan's progress to industrialization has been unique and unrepeatable

So there you have it. Unsubstantiated statistical assumptions, calling any number you can a drain & assuming a counterfactual for no good reason gets you this $45 trillion number. Hopefully that's enough to bury it in the ground.
^{1. Several authors have affirmed that Indian identity is a colonial artefact. For example see Rajan 1969:}

^{Perhaps the single greatest and most enduring impact of British rule over India is that it created an Indian nation, in the modern political sense. After centuries of rule by different dynasties overparts of the Indian sub-continent, and after about 100 years of British rule, Indians ceased to be merely Bengalis, Maharashtrians,or Tamils, linguistically and culturally.}

^{or see Bryant 2000:}

^{But then, it would be anachronistic to condemn eighteenth-century Indians, who served the British, as collaborators, when the notion of 'democratic' nationalism or of an Indian 'nation' did not then exist. [...] Indians who fought for them, differed from the Europeans in having a primary attachment to a non-belligerent religion, family and local chief, which was stronger than any identity they might have with a more remote prince or 'nation'.}

Bibliography

Chakrabarti, Shubra & Patnaik, Utsa (2018). Agrarian and other histories: Essays for Binay Bhushan Chaudhuri. Colombia University Press
Hickel, Jason (2018). How the British stole $45 trillion from India. The Guardian
Bhuyan, Aroonim & Sharma, Krishan (2019). The Great Loot: How the British stole $45 trillion from India. Indiapost
Monbiot, George (2020). English Landowners have stolen our rights. It is time to reclaim them. The Guardian
Tsjeng, Zing (2020). How Britain Stole $45 trillion from India with trains | Empires of Dirt. Vice
Chaudhury, Dipanjan (2019). British looted $45 trillion from India in today’s value: Jaishankar. The Economic Times
Roy, Tirthankar (2019). How British rule changed India's economy: The Paradox of the Raj. Palgrave Macmillan
Patnaik, Utsa (2018). How the British impoverished India. Hindustan Times
Tuovila, Alicia (2019). Expenditure method. Investopedia
Dewey, Clive (2019). Changing the guard: The dissolution of the nationalist–Marxist orthodoxy in the agrarian and agricultural history of India. The Indian Economic & Social History Review
Chandra, Bipan et al. (1989). India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947. Penguin Books
Frankema, Ewout & Booth, Anne (2019). Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State in Asia and Africa, c. 1850-1960. Cambridge University Press
Dalal, Sucheta (2019). IL&FS Controversy: Centre is Paying Up on Sovereign Guarantees to ADB, KfW for Group's Loan. TheWire
Chaudhuri, K.N. (1983). X - Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments (1757–1947). Cambridge University Press
Sunderland, David (2013). Financing the Raj: The City of London and Colonial India, 1858-1940. Boydell Press
Dewey, Clive (1978). Patwari and Chaukidar: Subordinate officials and the reliability of India’s agricultural statistics. Athlone Press
Smith, Lisa (2015). The great Indian calorie debate: Explaining rising undernourishment during India’s rapid economic growth. Food Policy
Duh, Josephine & Spears, Dean (2016). Health and Hunger: Disease, Energy Needs, and the Indian Calorie Consumption Puzzle. The Economic Journal
Vankatesh, P. et al. (2016). Relationship between Food Production and Consumption Diversity in India – Empirical Evidences from Cross Section Analysis. Agricultural Economics Research Review
Gupta, Shaibal (1980). Potential of Industrial Revolution in Pre-British India. Economic and Political Weekly
Raychaudhuri, Tapan (1983). I - The mid-eighteenth-century background. Cambridge University Press
Yasuba, Yasukichi (1986). Standard of Living in Japan Before Industrialization: From what Level did Japan Begin? A Comment. The Journal of Economic History
Tomblinson, B.R. (1985). Writing History Sideways: Lessons for Indian Economic Historians from Meiji Japan. Cambridge University Press
Rajan, M.S. (1969). The Impact of British Rule in India. Journal of Contemporary History
Bryant, G.J. (2000). Indigenous Mercenaries in the Service of European Imperialists: The Case of the Sepoys in the Early British Indian Army, 1750-1800. War in History

--UPDATE--
In light of Christine from Hatch's announcement of a reduction to a flat $3 broker fee, I've updated in a new comment here.
Treat the direct comparison of $ below as incorrect (once Hatch update their pricing).
--Old Text--
I decided to undertake a fees comparison of the two platforms as Stake is launching on Tuesday.
Comparing Hatch and Stake, the long and short of it is:

• If you are buying more than 1.00 shares and less than 400 share units, you will be on $8/transaction fee. So including the 0.5% FX fee, the break-even point where Hatch fees are cheaper is about $1600 in 1 transaction. Above this, Hatch is cheaper. Below this, Stake is cheaper.
• If you only buy fractional shares (less than 1.00 share units per transaction, eg you can buy 0.99 shares for USD$3) then the break-even point is $600 per transaction. Above this, Hatch is cheaper, below Stake is cheaper. For this to apply you'd have to be buying into something like Amazon where the share price is $2k/share, so this comparison is kind of meaningless. Most companies are under $600 so you'd be buying more than 1.00 share units.
• If you buy fractional shares into say 3 companies per FX transfer, total fees are $9/transfer, then the break-even point is about $1900 (below Stake is better, above Hatch is better)
• If you are are a typical routine investor doing small DCA every fortnight or month or whatever, buying into multiple companies with each deposit, Stake will win every time because of zero broker fees.

Most people will do the latter and be DCA in to a lot of smaller companies so Stake will end up being a lot cheaper on the buy-in.
https://imgur.com/a/wkuiIl1
Comparing to US based companies, assuming you use Transferwise to deposit into a US bank account and there is no fee to transfer from the US account to their service, Transferwise appear to get a 0.6% better FOREX rate than Hatch did when I just checked - Transferwise was $0.6067 vs Hatch $0.6029 (I'm assuming the Hatch FOREX rate will be similar to Stake, can't check atm as I don't have a Stake account until Tuesday). So the break-even point for using Transferwise at current FOREX rates is about $250 (below Stake is better, above Transferwise is better), excluding IBKTD Ameritrade fees (TDA have no broker fees currently). Hatch will allow USD transfer but only if you email them so I don't think you can use this as your regular deposit strategy.
One thing to consider with IBKTD Amertrade is they are US companies who are not at all interested in your NZ tax requirements so will not help you at all in the process. Customer support will be harder to get, and using Transferwise is not a trivial process especially if you are doing very regular deposits it can become a PITA for a relatively tiny difference in fees (eg if you deposit $500/fortnight the difference in FX fees is about $3 per transaction, so just don't buy that bag of chips and save yourself the hassle of using Transferwise + foreign based company IMO - and this is coming from someone who even changes power and ISP companies every year chasing better deals!).
Once you want to withdraw money, Hatch is obviously cheaper at 0.5% (edit: despite the $8 withdrawal fee) compared to 1% with Stake (and they have a $2 withdrawl fee that will be pretty negligible if you have a lot of money invested). Hatch will do an off-market transfer of US shares so best strategy might be using Stake for deposits and Hatch for withdrawals.
Another benefit to Hatch is that they are Kiwi owned so I think more likely to be accessible in terms of Tax and customer support than an Aussie based company (Stake). Lastly with Hatch, if a company is less than $400/share then you should buy a series of Fractional share bids unless you are buying more than 2.66 share units, above that the $8 broker fee is better.
Edit: I had a user complaining about the withdrawal fee of $8 through Hatch. This is true if you are regularly buying and selling shares. Typical advice given here is directed to buy and hold strategies (so you only get stung once for a withdrawal after X number of years), if you want day trading advice there are other subs for that. See my comment here.

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Job Openings Related To Middle Market Investment Bank

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This is a response to u/sgicruz*'s post:* Best way to receive USD payment into a USD savings account? I created a post since this is a bit long comparison.
If you are transferring large amounts of USD from Paypal (i.e. >USD 2,000 at a time), you are forced by Paypal to withdraw in PHP, since you cannot withdraw USD directly to Philippine-based USD accounts. Instead, you can use the TransferWise Borderless Account. The Borderless Account allows you to hold multiple currencies on the account, and also provides USD US Bank Account details (also GBP, Euro, AUD, NZD) which can receive funds via local ACH (automated clearing house). Paypal can withdraw USD funds via US ACH. (There is a verification step before being assigned bank account details: see footnote at the bottom of my post)*
For comparison, below are three scenarios:

1. Paypal (USD) -> Local PHP Savings Account (PHP)
2. Paypal (USD) -> TransferWise Borderless Account -> BDO USD Savings Account (USD)
3. Paypal (USD) -> TransferWise Borderless Account -> Local PHP Savings Account (PHP)

---------------------------
1. Paypal -> (Withdraw to PHP Bank Account) -> Local PHP Savings Account
Associated fees (sample computation for USD 2,000):

• Paypal withdrawal from USD balance to PHP Bank Account = free for amounts >= 7,000; PHP 50 for amounts <7,000 (flat fee)
• BDO Incoming Paypal PHP Remittance = PHP 200 (flat fee)

Total fees: PHP 200 (for USD 2,000 sample computation)
(Note: if you use GCash, I think total fee is always PHP 0, subject to wallet and transaction limits)
Exchange Rate (sample for May 8, 2020): 1 USD => PHP 48.9414
Net PHP received thru bank: PHP 97,682.70 (BDO) or PHP 97,882.70 (GCash)
Paypal's PHP-USD buy/sell spread is horrendous at around ~3.0-3.5% compared to the mid-market rate. But this is still a valid option if (1) you are withdrawing small amounts, or (2) you need instant access to cash.
---------------------------
2. Paypal -> (Withdraw to US Bank Account) -> TransferWise Borderless Account -> (Send USD via SWIFT) -> BDO USD Savings Account
Associated fees (sample computation for USD 2,000):

• Paypal withdrawal from USD balance to US Bank Account = USD 35.00 (flat fee)
• TransferWise fee for USD transfer over SWIFT = USD 1.40+3.20 = USD 4.60 (flat fee)
• SWIFT intermediary/correspondent bank fees = USD 15.00 (flat fee, but can vary from 0-60 USD depending on route taken and on int'l bank relationships your local USD bank has)
• BDO Incoming SWIFT Remittance = USD 5.00 (flat fee)

Total fees: 59.60 USD
Net USD received thru bank: USD 1940.40
If your ultimate goal is to get the funds in PHP, we can try exchanging the USD to PHP via BDO
Exchange Rate (sample for May 8, 2020): 1 USD => PHP 50.0000 (BDO USD Buy rates)
Net PHP received thru bank: PHP 97,020.00
There are a lot of fixed fees, so this will only be economical for large amounts of USD (probably >USD 3,000). In addition, BDO's PHP-USD buy/sell spread is around ~0.5-1.0% compared to the mid-market rate.
Paypal withdrawal to US bank account takes around 1-2 banking days, while SWIFT transfers take around 1-5 banking days.
---------------------------
An alternative is to send PHP directly from TransferWise. This is cheaper than Paypal or even the USD route described above. This is because TransferWise's exchange rate uses the mid-market rate, and they have transparent fees. In addition, TransferWise -> Local PHP Savings Account settles in minutes, as opposed to the SWIFT USD transfer above (which can take anywhere from 2-5 banking days).
3. Paypal -> (Withdraw to US Bank Account) -> TransferWise Borderless Account -> (Send PHP via ACH [this means Bancnet]) -> Local PHP Savings Account
Associated fees (sample computation for USD 2,000):

• Paypal withdrawal from USD balance to TransferWise US Bank Account = USD 35 (flat fee)
• TransferWise fee for PHP transfer over ACH (Bancnet) = USD 12.01

Total fees: USD 47.01
Net USD for conversion: USD 1952.99
Exchange Rate (sample for May 8, 2020): 1 USD => 50.4800 PHP
Net PHP received thru bank: PHP 98,586.93
Paypal withdrawal to US bank account takes around 1-2 banking days, while TransferWise USD-PHP ACH (Bancnet) settles in minutes.
---------------------------
*To receive your own USD bank account details, you're required to "Add Money" at least GBP 20 or its equivalent (maybe USD 25). This is their verification requirement. I recommend adding money using Visa/Mastercard Debit Card: TransferWise has around 4.5% fees for the Debit Card Add Money option, so it's going to cost around ~PHP 60 in fees. I recommend using CIMB ATM card if you have, since they currently (as of May 8, 2020) do not charge forex conversion fees. If not, any Visa/Mastercard debit card will do (including BDO Visa ATM cards).
---------------------------
TLDR;
For relatively small amounts, withdraw directly from Paypal to PHP bank account. Best choice is Paypal -> GCash (no inward remittance fee).
For larger amounts, withdraw USD from Paypal to TransferWise Borderless Account, then send PHP via ACH (Bancnet) to Philippine PHP Savings account.
But if you want to keep the amount as USD: withdraw USD from Paypal to TransferWise Borderless Account, then send USD via SWIFT to Philippine USD Savings account.

Hi Everyone!
​
Been doing quite a bit of reading these past couple weeks to finally start off on my investment path, but still feel uncertain on a few points, and I was hoping some kind soul could help vet my thoughts?
​

1. Due to risk apetite, current situation, 15% DWT, and pursuit of a globally diversified passive investing strategy i've narrowed it down to starting off with IWDA (Might read up more on SWRD) + EIMI for now.a. Although these ETF's are bought in foreign fx, they're still the best option in terms of TER.ie. in comparison to SGX traded alternatives for global exposure (ex. sgx s27 for S&P500)
2. I've opened a Saxo account which i intend to grow till i hit 100K, at which point I should swap to IB.
3. My Saxo account is set to SGD, but ultimately that setting won't really matter as IWDA and EMIM are bought on LSE so i'll have to take the forex risk regardless.
4. Due to all the fees involved, it makes more sense to DCA into these ETF's on a quarterly basis vs for example 1K SGD on a monthly basis.

Do the above four points seem reasonable?
I'm also curious, I've got quite a bit of savings in an Irish bank account.... I'm thinking of moving that over to my SG bank using transferwise to function as my emergency fund. Or would it make more sense transferring it to SAXO to use for investing in the LSE based ETF's?
​
Thank you so much for any advice, i'd really really appreciate someone helping to sort out my thoughts!
​
[EDIT] To help clarify on the excessive acronyms

• DWT - Dividend Withholding Tax
• DCA - Dollar Cost Averaging
• TER - Total Expense Ratio
• LSE - London Stock Exchange
• IB - Interactive Brokers
• IWDA, SWRD - Two global funds focusing on developed countries
• EIMI - Emerging markets fund

Post any options questions you wanted to ask, but were afraid to ask. A weekly thread in which questions will be received with equanimity. There are no stupid questions, only dumb answers.   Fire away. This is a weekly rotation with past threads linked below. This project succeeds thanks to people thoughtfully sharing their knowledge and experiences (YOU are invited to respond to questions posted here.)
Perhaps you're looking for an item in the frequent answers list below.
For a useful response about a particular option trade, disclose position details, so that responders can assist. Vague inquires receive vague responses. Tell us: TICKER -- Put or Call -- strike price (for each leg, on spreads) -- expiration date -- cost of option entry -- date of option entry -- underlying stock price at entry -- current option (spread) market value -- current underlying stock price -- your rationale for entering the position.   .
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I just made (or lost) $____. Should I close the trade? Yes, close the trade, because you had no plan for an exit to limit your risk. Your trade is a prediction: a plan directs action upon an (in)validated prediction. Take the gain (or loss). End the risk of losing the gain (or increasing the loss). Plan the exit before the start of each trade, for both a gain, and maximum loss. • Exit-first trade planning, and using a risk-reduction trade checklist (Redtexture)
Why did my options lose value, when the stock price went in a favorable direction? • Options extrinsic and intrinsic value, an introduction (Redtexture)
Getting started in options • Calls and puts, long and short, an introduction (Redtexture) • Exercise & Assignment - A Guide (ScottishTrader) • Some useful educational links • Some introductory trading guidance, with educational links • Options Expiration & Assignment (Option Alpha) • Expiration time and date (Investopedia)
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Trade planning, risk reduction and trade size, etc. • Exit-first trade planning, and using a risk-reduction trade checklist (Redtexture) • Trade Checklists and Guides (Option Alpha) • An illustration of planning on trades failing. (John Carter) (at 90 seconds) • Trade Simulator Tool (Radioactive Trading) • Risk of Ruin (Better System Trader)
Minimizing Bid-Ask Spreads (high-volume options are best) • Fishing for a price: price discovery with (wide) bid-ask spreads (Redtexture) • List of option activity by underlying (Market Chameleon) • List of option activity by underlying (Barchart) • Open Interest by ticker (optinistics)
Closing out a trade • Most options positions are closed before expiration (Options Playbook) • When to Exit Guide (Option Alpha) • Risk to reward ratios change over the life of a position: a reason for early exit (Redtexture)
Options Greeks and Option Chains • An Introduction to Options Greeks (Options Playbook) • Options Greeks (Epsilon Options) • Option Greeks (Chris Butler - Project Option) • A selected list of option chain & option data websites • See also the wiki FAQ
Selected Trade Positions & Management • The Wheel Strategy (ScottishTrader) • Rolling Short (Credit) Spreads (Options Playbook) • Rolling Short (Credit) Spreads (Redtexture) • Long Call vs. Call Spread Options Strategy Comparison (Chris Butler - Project Option) (30 Minutes) • Take the loss (here's why) (Clay Trader) (15 minutes) • The diagonal calendar spread and "poor man's covered call" (Redtexture) • Creative Ways to Avoid The Pattern Day Trader Rule (Sean McLaughlin) • See also the wiki FAQ
Implied Volatility, IV Rank, and IV Percentile (of days) • See the wiki FAQ
Miscellaneous: Economic Calendars, International Brokers, RobinHood, Pattern Day Trader, CBOE Exchange Rules, Contract Specifications, TDA Margin Handbook, EU Regulations on US ETFs, US Taxes and Options • See the wiki FAQ for most of this material • Selected calendars of economic reports and events • An incomplete list of international brokers dealing in US options markets (Redtexture)
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• I've worked with global leaders in different industries including the sister company of a Fortune 50 company.
• I’ve ghostwritten for thought leaders including CEOs, CTOs, and Directors for companies like KPMG US (and got their ideas to the first page of Google SERPs).
• I regularly work with tech startups as a content writer and content strategist, helping them build their blog from scratch and develop a brand voice. Many of these articles are already ranking first just a few months after publication.
• I've also worked as a narrative designer developing storylines and writing scripts for video games.
• I also have a lot of experience working with digital marketing agencies around the globe, delivering compelling copy and engaging content in fields ranging from disruptive technology to business management.

Explore my portfolio!
SERVICES:

• Creative Work / Narrative Design
• Content Strategy + Content Calendar
• eBooks
• Long-form content
• Articles/blog posts
• Website Copy
• Newsletters
• Cover letters
• Ghostwriting
• Editing
• Social Media Posts
• Backlinks/Link Building

Blog Content Pricing
$0.12 to $0.18 per word
Large project? PM to discuss pricing.
I am a verified merchant on PayPal so all payments are made through PayPal invoices.
eBooks:

• “Hello Again!” An eCommerce Guide to Building Customer Loyalty & Improving Retention
• How to Build a Prototype That Will Wow Investors!

Opinion Pieces

• Blockchain: The Next Generation of the Internet
• How Apple is Changing the Tech World… For the Worse
• The War on Drugs and How it Failed

News

• $4.26 Billion Gone in 6 Months: Dark Side of Cryptocurrency Trading
• Google, Twitter and Facebook Working Together With BBC To Fight Fake News
• 60,000 Medical Records Compromised in EmCare Data Breach​

Technical Content

• Superheroes for hire – secrets of the 10x engineer
• Everything You Need to Know About Title Loans
• ​How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant for 2020
• What is Technical Debt?

Blockchain and AI

• Determining the Role of AI in the Cities of the Future
• Blockchain Use Cases: 8 Ways The World Will Change
• Security, Currency, or Utility? Classifying Cryptocurrencies in 2019
• Every Industry Is Banking On Blockchain Technology
• How to hire a blockchain developer in 2019
• Blockchain Is Changing The Way The World Trades Stocks
• Blockchain Is Set To Revolutionize The Forex Market

Business (Entrepreneurship)

• MVP Without Code: 5 Ways to Create an MVP Without Any Technical Or Coding Knowledge (with Examples)​
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 1
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 2
• SBIR Funding
• Esports Gambling: A $20 Billion Industry
• What It’s Like to Be an M&A Consultant in 2019

Business (Management)

• Paying Employees Under The Table: What You Need to Know
• How PE Firms Multiply Market Share Using A Platform Play
• Transaction to Transformation: How an M&A Can Lead To Digital Transformation
• 20 People Management Skills for Managers
• 8 Most Effective Management Styles
• 7 Strategies to Handle a Lazy Employee
• Strategies for Effective Communication

Marketing

• Marketing B2B Products and Services Like a Video Game
• Traditional Advertising Channels for Restaurants vs. Digital Alternatives
• Start Selling On Your Own Ecommerce Store? Amazon Fulfillment vs. WooCommerce in 2019
• The “Boutique” Epidemic: Is Dropshipping a Viable Strategy?
• Why Getting Website Feedback is Crucial in the Digital Age

Product Review and Comparison

• Product Review: Acer Nitro 5
• 3 Best DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Which Is The Best Gigabit Modem in 2019?
• DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Are They Worthwhile?
• What To Check Before Buying Refurbished MacBooks

Automotive Sales Pages

• 2020 Atlas – University Volkswagen
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q5
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q3

Technology

• The Future of Self-Driving Cars
• 6 Ways RCS is Being Used By Top Businesses in 2020
• How to Integrate SMS Into Your Business Messaging Strategy in 2020
• Google Assistant App – Helpful Guide: 13 Awesome How To’s

A lot of my work in tech/SaaS niches has been as a ghostwriter. Send me a PM or email for published links.
Video Games

• Game of Life: MDA Framework
• 5 Popular Video Games That Are Actually Educational
• Guide to Implementing GBL Learning

I've also worked as the narrative designer on a number of indie video games. Send me a PM or email for samples.
Health

• Caregivers: Responsibilities and Duties
• Dehydration In The Elderly
• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder

(pm for more on construction, storylines, scripts, advertising, home improvement, etc).
Let's talk business!
The best way to reach me is through email. (I do not use Reddit chat).
You can also get in touch with me with a simple contact form here.
I'd be happy to answer any questions at (I love to talk about my writing process).
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (or hop on a call with me if you prefer that).
Thank you for reading. I look forward to working with you.
Cheers!

Hi, TheWriterMan here! 👋 I am a freelance content writer with a background in content marketing and business management. I've been writing for four years now and during my time working as a full-time writer I’ve done almost every kind of writing imaginable in the digital age.

• I've worked with global leaders in different industries including the sister company of a Fortune 50 company.
• I’ve ghostwritten for thought leaders including CEOs, CTOs, and Directors for companies like KPMG US (and got their ideas to the first page of Google SERPs).
• I regularly work with tech startups as a content writer and content strategist, helping them build their blog from scratch and develop a brand voice. Many of these articles are already ranking first just a few months after publication.
• I've also worked as a narrative designer developing storylines and writing scripts for video games.
• I also have a lot of experience working with digital marketing agencies around the globe, delivering compelling copy and engaging content in fields ranging from disruptive technology to business management.

Explore my portfolio!
SERVICES:

• Creative Work / Narrative Design
• Content Strategy + Content Calendar
• eBooks
• Long-form content
• Articles/blog posts
• Website Copy
• Newsletters
• Cover letters
• Ghostwriting
• Editing
• Social Media Posts
• Backlinks/Link Building

Blog Content Pricing
$0.12 to $0.18 per word
Large project? PM to discuss pricing.
I am a verified merchant on PayPal so all payments are made through PayPal invoices.
eBooks:

• “Hello Again!” An eCommerce Guide to Building Customer Loyalty & Improving Retention
• How to Build a Prototype That Will Wow Investors!

Opinion Pieces

• Blockchain: The Next Generation of the Internet
• How Apple is Changing the Tech World… For the Worse
• The War on Drugs and How it Failed

News

• $4.26 Billion Gone in 6 Months: Dark Side of Cryptocurrency Trading
• Google, Twitter and Facebook Working Together With BBC To Fight Fake News
• 60,000 Medical Records Compromised in EmCare Data Breach​

Technical Content

• Superheroes for hire – secrets of the 10x engineer
• Everything You Need to Know About Title Loans
• ​How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant for 2020
• What is Technical Debt?

Blockchain and AI

• Determining the Role of AI in the Cities of the Future
• Blockchain Use Cases: 8 Ways The World Will Change
• Security, Currency, or Utility? Classifying Cryptocurrencies in 2019
• Every Industry Is Banking On Blockchain Technology
• How to hire a blockchain developer in 2019
• Blockchain Is Changing The Way The World Trades Stocks
• Blockchain Is Set To Revolutionize The Forex Market

Business (Entrepreneurship)

• MVP Without Code: 5 Ways to Create an MVP Without Any Technical Or Coding Knowledge (with Examples)​
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 1
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 2
• SBIR Funding
• Esports Gambling: A $20 Billion Industry
• What It’s Like to Be an M&A Consultant in 2019

Business (Management)

• Paying Employees Under The Table: What You Need to Know
• How PE Firms Multiply Market Share Using A Platform Play
• Transaction to Transformation: How an M&A Can Lead To Digital Transformation
• 20 People Management Skills for Managers
• 8 Most Effective Management Styles
• 7 Strategies to Handle a Lazy Employee
• Strategies for Effective Communication

Marketing

• Marketing B2B Products and Services Like a Video Game
• Traditional Advertising Channels for Restaurants vs. Digital Alternatives
• Start Selling On Your Own Ecommerce Store? Amazon Fulfillment vs. WooCommerce in 2019
• The “Boutique” Epidemic: Is Dropshipping a Viable Strategy?
• Why Getting Website Feedback is Crucial in the Digital Age

Product Review and Comparison

• Product Review: Acer Nitro 5
• 3 Best DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Which Is The Best Gigabit Modem in 2019?
• DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Are They Worthwhile?
• What To Check Before Buying Refurbished MacBooks

Automotive Sales Pages

• 2020 Atlas – University Volkswagen
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q5
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q3

Technology

• The Future of Self-Driving Cars
• 6 Ways RCS is Being Used By Top Businesses in 2020
• How to Integrate SMS Into Your Business Messaging Strategy in 2020
• Google Assistant App – Helpful Guide: 13 Awesome How To’s

A lot of my work in tech/SaaS niches has been as a ghostwriter. Send me a PM or email for published links.
Video Games

• Game of Life: MDA Framework
• 5 Popular Video Games That Are Actually Educational
• Guide to Implementing GBL Learning

I've also worked as the narrative designer on a number of indie video games. Send me a PM or email for samples.
Health

• Caregivers: Responsibilities and Duties
• Dehydration In The Elderly
• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder

(pm for more on construction, storylines, scripts, advertising, home improvement, etc).
Let's talk business!
The best way to reach me is through email. (I do not use Reddit chat).
You can also get in touch with me with a simple contact form here.
I'd be happy to answer any questions at (I love to talk about my writing process).
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (or hop on a call with me if you prefer that).
Thank you for reading. I look forward to working with you.
Cheers!

Hi, TheWriterMan here! 👋 I am a freelance content writer with a background in content marketing and business management. I've been writing for four years now and during my time working as a full-time writer I’ve done almost every kind of writing imaginable in the digital age.

• I've worked with global leaders in different industries including the sister company of a Fortune 50 company.
• I’ve ghostwritten for thought leaders including CEOs, CTOs, and Directors for companies like KPMG US (and got their ideas to the first page of Google SERPs).
• I regularly work with tech startups as a content writer and content strategist, helping them build their blog from scratch and develop a brand voice.
• I've also worked as a narrative designer developing storylines and writing scripts for video games.
• I also have a lot of experience working with digital marketing agencies around the globe, delivering compelling copy and engaging content in fields ranging from disruptive technology to business management.

Explore my portfolio!
SERVICES:

• Creative Work / Narrative Design
• Content Strategy + Content Calendar
• eBooks
• Long-form content
• Articles/blog posts
• Website Copy
• Newsletters
• Cover letters
• Ghostwriting
• Editing
• Social Media Posts
• Backlinks/Link Building

Pricing
$0.12 (10 cents) to $0.2 per word
Large project? PM to discuss pricing.
I am a verified merchant on PayPal so all payments are made through PayPal invoices.
eBooks:

• “Hello Again!” An eCommerce Guide to Building Customer Loyalty & Improving Retention
• How to Build a Prototype That Will Wow Investors!

Opinion Pieces

• Blockchain: The Next Generation of the Internet
• How Apple is Changing the Tech World… For the Worse
• The War on Drugs and How it Failed

News

• $4.26 Billion Gone in 6 Months: Dark Side of Cryptocurrency Trading
• Google, Twitter and Facebook Working Together With BBC To Fight Fake News
• 60,000 Medical Records Compromised in EmCare Data Breach​

Technical Content

• Superheroes for hire – secrets of the 10x engineer
• Everything You Need to Know About Title Loans
• ​How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant for 2020
• What is Technical Debt?

Blockchain and AI

• Determining the Role of AI in the Cities of the Future
• Blockchain Use Cases: 8 Ways The World Will Change
• Security, Currency, or Utility? Classifying Cryptocurrencies in 2019
• Every Industry Is Banking On Blockchain Technology
• How to hire a blockchain developer in 2019
• Blockchain Is Changing The Way The World Trades Stocks
• Blockchain Is Set To Revolutionize The Forex Market

Business (Entrepreneurship)

• MVP Without Code: 5 Ways to Create an MVP Without Any Technical Or Coding Knowledge (with Examples)​
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 1
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 2
• SBIR Funding
• Esports Gambling: A $20 Billion Industry
• What It’s Like to Be an M&A Consultant in 2019

Business (Management)

• Paying Employees Under The Table: What You Need to Know
• How PE Firms Multiply Market Share Using A Platform Play
• Transaction to Transformation: How an M&A Can Lead To Digital Transformation
• 20 People Management Skills for Managers
• 8 Most Effective Management Styles
• 7 Strategies to Handle a Lazy Employee
• Strategies for Effective Communication

Marketing

• Marketing B2B Products and Services Like a Video Game
• Traditional Advertising Channels for Restaurants vs. Digital Alternatives
• Start Selling On Your Own Ecommerce Store? Amazon Fulfillment vs. WooCommerce in 2019
• The “Boutique” Epidemic: Is Dropshipping a Viable Strategy?
• Why Getting Website Feedback is Crucial in the Digital Age

Product Review and Comparison

• Product Review: Acer Nitro 5
• 3 Best DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Which Is The Best Gigabit Modem in 2019?
• DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Are They Worthwhile?
• What To Check Before Buying Refurbished MacBooks

Automotive Sales Pages

• 2020 Atlas – University Volkswagen
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q5
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q3

Technology

• The Future of Self-Driving Cars
• 6 Ways RCS is Being Used By Top Businesses in 2020
• How to Integrate SMS Into Your Business Messaging Strategy in 2020
• Google Assistant App – Helpful Guide: 13 Awesome How To’s

A lot of my work in tech/SaaS niches has been as a ghostwriter. Send me a PM or email for published links.
Video Games

• Game of Life: MDA Framework
• 5 Popular Video Games That Are Actually Educational
• Guide to Implementing GBL Learning

I've also worked as the narrative designer on a number of indie video games. Send me a PM or email for samples.
Health

• Caregivers: Responsibilities and Duties
• Dehydration In The Elderly
• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder

(pm for more on construction, storylines, scripts, advertising, home improvement, etc).
Let's talk business!
The best way to reach me is through email. (I do not use Reddit chat).
You can also get in touch with me with a simple contact form here.
I'd be happy to answer any questions at (I love to talk about my writing process).
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (or hop on a call with me if you prefer that).
Thank you for reading. I look forward to working with you.
Cheers!

Hi, TheWriterMan here! 👋 I am a freelance content writer with a background in content marketing and business management. I've been writing for four years now and during my time working as a full-time writer I’ve done almost every kind of writing imaginable in the digital age.

• I've worked with global leaders in different industries including the sister company of a Fortune 50 company.
• I’ve ghostwritten for thought leaders including CEOs, CTOs, and Directors for companies like KPMG US (and got their ideas to the first page of Google SERPs).
• I regularly work with tech startups as a content writer and content strategist, helping them build their blog from scratch and develop a brand voice. Many of these articles are already ranking first just a few months after publication.
• I've also worked as a narrative designer developing storylines and writing scripts for video games.
• I also have a lot of experience working with digital marketing agencies around the globe, delivering compelling copy and engaging content in fields ranging from disruptive technology to business management.

Explore my portfolio!
SERVICES:

• Creative Work / Narrative Design
• Content Strategy + Content Calendar
• eBooks
• Long-form content
• Articles/blog posts
• Website Copy
• Newsletters
• Cover letters
• Ghostwriting
• Editing
• Social Media Posts
• Backlinks/Link Building

Blog Content Pricing
$0.12 to $0.2 per word
Large project? PM to discuss pricing.
I am a verified merchant on PayPal so all payments are made through PayPal invoices.
eBooks:

• “Hello Again!” An eCommerce Guide to Building Customer Loyalty & Improving Retention
• How to Build a Prototype That Will Wow Investors!

Opinion Pieces

• Blockchain: The Next Generation of the Internet
• How Apple is Changing the Tech World… For the Worse
• The War on Drugs and How it Failed

News

• $4.26 Billion Gone in 6 Months: Dark Side of Cryptocurrency Trading
• Google, Twitter and Facebook Working Together With BBC To Fight Fake News
• 60,000 Medical Records Compromised in EmCare Data Breach​

Technical Content

• Superheroes for hire – secrets of the 10x engineer
• Everything You Need to Know About Title Loans
• ​How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant for 2020
• What is Technical Debt?

Blockchain and AI

• Determining the Role of AI in the Cities of the Future
• Blockchain Use Cases: 8 Ways The World Will Change
• Security, Currency, or Utility? Classifying Cryptocurrencies in 2019
• Every Industry Is Banking On Blockchain Technology
• How to hire a blockchain developer in 2019
• Blockchain Is Changing The Way The World Trades Stocks
• Blockchain Is Set To Revolutionize The Forex Market

Business (Entrepreneurship)

• MVP Without Code: 5 Ways to Create an MVP Without Any Technical Or Coding Knowledge (with Examples)​
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 1
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 2
• SBIR Funding
• Esports Gambling: A $20 Billion Industry
• What It’s Like to Be an M&A Consultant in 2019

Business (Management)

• Paying Employees Under The Table: What You Need to Know
• How PE Firms Multiply Market Share Using A Platform Play
• Transaction to Transformation: How an M&A Can Lead To Digital Transformation
• 20 People Management Skills for Managers
• 8 Most Effective Management Styles
• 7 Strategies to Handle a Lazy Employee
• Strategies for Effective Communication

Marketing

• Marketing B2B Products and Services Like a Video Game
• Traditional Advertising Channels for Restaurants vs. Digital Alternatives
• Start Selling On Your Own Ecommerce Store? Amazon Fulfillment vs. WooCommerce in 2019
• The “Boutique” Epidemic: Is Dropshipping a Viable Strategy?
• Why Getting Website Feedback is Crucial in the Digital Age

Product Review and Comparison

• Product Review: Acer Nitro 5
• 3 Best DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Which Is The Best Gigabit Modem in 2019?
• DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Are They Worthwhile?
• What To Check Before Buying Refurbished MacBooks

Automotive Sales Pages

• 2020 Atlas – University Volkswagen
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q5
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q3

Technology

• The Future of Self-Driving Cars
• 6 Ways RCS is Being Used By Top Businesses in 2020
• How to Integrate SMS Into Your Business Messaging Strategy in 2020
• Google Assistant App – Helpful Guide: 13 Awesome How To’s

A lot of my work in tech/SaaS niches has been as a ghostwriter. Send me a PM or email for published links.
Video Games

• Game of Life: MDA Framework
• 5 Popular Video Games That Are Actually Educational
• Guide to Implementing GBL Learning

I've also worked as the narrative designer on a number of indie video games. Send me a PM or email for samples.
Health

• Caregivers: Responsibilities and Duties
• Dehydration In The Elderly
• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder

(pm for more on construction, storylines, scripts, advertising, home improvement, etc).
Let's talk business!
The best way to reach me is through email. (I do not use Reddit chat).
You can also get in touch with me with a simple contact form here.
I'd be happy to answer any questions at (I love to talk about my writing process).
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (or hop on a call with me if you prefer that).
Thank you for reading. I look forward to working with you.
Cheers!

Hi, TheWriterMan here! 👋 I am a freelance content writer with a background in content marketing and business management. I've been writing for four years now and during my time working as a full-time writer I’ve done almost every kind of writing imaginable in the digital age.

• I've worked with global leaders in different industries including the sister company of a Fortune 50 company.
• I’ve ghostwritten for thought leaders including CEOs, CTOs, and Directors for companies like KPMG US (and got their ideas to the first page of Google SERPs).
• I regularly work with tech startups as a content writer and content strategist, helping them build their blog from scratch and develop a brand voice. Many of these articles are already ranking first just a few months after publication.
• I've also worked as a narrative designer developing storylines and writing scripts for video games.
• I also have a lot of experience working with digital marketing agencies around the globe, delivering compelling copy and engaging content in fields ranging from disruptive technology to business management.

Explore my portfolio!
SERVICES:

• Creative Work / Narrative Design
• Content Strategy + Content Calendar
• eBooks
• Long-form content
• Articles/blog posts
• Website Copy
• Newsletters
• Cover letters
• Ghostwriting
• Editing
• Social Media Posts
• Backlinks/Link Building

Pricing
$0.12 (10 cents) to $0.2 per word
Large project? PM to discuss pricing.
I am a verified merchant on PayPal so all payments are made through PayPal invoices.
eBooks:

• “Hello Again!” An eCommerce Guide to Building Customer Loyalty & Improving Retention
• How to Build a Prototype That Will Wow Investors!

Opinion Pieces

• Blockchain: The Next Generation of the Internet
• How Apple is Changing the Tech World… For the Worse
• The War on Drugs and How it Failed

News

• $4.26 Billion Gone in 6 Months: Dark Side of Cryptocurrency Trading
• Google, Twitter and Facebook Working Together With BBC To Fight Fake News
• 60,000 Medical Records Compromised in EmCare Data Breach​

Technical Content

• Superheroes for hire – secrets of the 10x engineer
• Everything You Need to Know About Title Loans
• ​How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant for 2020
• What is Technical Debt?

Blockchain and AI

• Determining the Role of AI in the Cities of the Future
• Blockchain Use Cases: 8 Ways The World Will Change
• Security, Currency, or Utility? Classifying Cryptocurrencies in 2019
• Every Industry Is Banking On Blockchain Technology
• How to hire a blockchain developer in 2019
• Blockchain Is Changing The Way The World Trades Stocks
• Blockchain Is Set To Revolutionize The Forex Market

Business (Entrepreneurship)

• MVP Without Code: 5 Ways to Create an MVP Without Any Technical Or Coding Knowledge (with Examples)​
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 1
• The Definitive Guide of Mergers & Acquisitions in 2019: Part 2
• SBIR Funding
• Esports Gambling: A $20 Billion Industry
• What It’s Like to Be an M&A Consultant in 2019

Business (Management)

• Paying Employees Under The Table: What You Need to Know
• How PE Firms Multiply Market Share Using A Platform Play
• Transaction to Transformation: How an M&A Can Lead To Digital Transformation
• 20 People Management Skills for Managers
• 8 Most Effective Management Styles
• 7 Strategies to Handle a Lazy Employee
• Strategies for Effective Communication

Marketing

• Marketing B2B Products and Services Like a Video Game
• Traditional Advertising Channels for Restaurants vs. Digital Alternatives
• Start Selling On Your Own Ecommerce Store? Amazon Fulfillment vs. WooCommerce in 2019
• The “Boutique” Epidemic: Is Dropshipping a Viable Strategy?
• Why Getting Website Feedback is Crucial in the Digital Age

Product Review and Comparison

• Product Review: Acer Nitro 5
• 3 Best DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Which Is The Best Gigabit Modem in 2019?
• DOCSIS 3.1 Modems: Are They Worthwhile?
• What To Check Before Buying Refurbished MacBooks

Automotive Sales Pages

• 2020 Atlas – University Volkswagen
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q5
• Audi Seattle – 2020 Audi Q3

Technology

• The Future of Self-Driving Cars
• 6 Ways RCS is Being Used By Top Businesses in 2020
• How to Integrate SMS Into Your Business Messaging Strategy in 2020
• Google Assistant App – Helpful Guide: 13 Awesome How To’s

A lot of my work in tech/SaaS niches has been as a ghostwriter. Send me a PM or email for published links.
Video Games

• Game of Life: MDA Framework
• 5 Popular Video Games That Are Actually Educational
• Guide to Implementing GBL Learning

I've also worked as the narrative designer on a number of indie video games. Send me a PM or email for samples.
Health

• Caregivers: Responsibilities and Duties
• Dehydration In The Elderly
• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder

(pm for more on construction, storylines, scripts, advertising, home improvement, etc).
Let's talk business!
The best way to reach me is through email. (I do not use Reddit chat).
You can also get in touch with me with a simple contact form here.
I'd be happy to answer any questions at (I love to talk about my writing process).
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (or hop on a call with me if you prefer that).
Thank you for reading. I look forward to working with you.
Cheers!