A Truth Social conspiracy, Pimp my Portfolio & the business of Champagne

Bryce: [00:00:31] Welcome to another episode of Equity Mates, a podcast where we explore what's possible in the world of investing. If you've just joined us for the first time, a massive welcome. My name is Bryce, and today we're checking in on a couple of the big IPO's in the world of social media. We have Pimp my portfolio returning and Book Club is back as well to chat through as always is my equity buddy, Ren. How are you? 

Alec: [00:00:52] I'm very good, Bryce. Very excited for this episode. We have a lot to cover, so I'm going to start with a question for you. How many shares of Truth Social do you own right now?

Bryce: [00:01:03] Thankfully none. How many do you own?

Alec: [00:01:07] None. None. But that is the big news of the week. So as always, let's start with our sting. 

Alec: [00:01:15] That's right. It feels very newsreader official when you hear that. 

Bryce: [00:01:18] Yeah, kind of a bit. 

Alec: [00:01:20] So a lot of news, in the world of investing and what we wanted to do to start this episode was really to circle back to some news stories that we've spoken about previously. So we spoke about Boeing a couple of weeks ago, and there's been news there. We spoke about Reddit's IPO, and we actually both made predictions about how it would go. So we'll check in on that and talk about how that social media IPO has gone. But where we want to start is another social media IPO. And that is Donald Trump's Truth Social has gone public. 

Bryce: [00:01:54] That's right, Ren. that Donald Trump's, social media platform, Truth Social is now listed on the Nasdaq ticker DJT after it was 

Alec: [00:02:03] Oh no. Let's pause on the ticker. Donald john Trump. He's good at self-promotion. 

Bryce: [00:02:09] Yeah. Very good. Great branding. As I said, they've merged with a company called Digital World Acquisition. A shell company. This was done through a special purpose acquisition company or Spac. And, and that's how they've listed. 

Alec: [00:02:23] Yes. And if that's confusing, don't worry, because the long and the short of it is, it is now a publicly traded company. Truth social. Well, the parent company of Truth Social is Trump Media and Technology Group Corporation because they have ambitions beyond this social platform, which we can touch on in a minute. But it is publicly traded and it reached, I think, even a little bit higher than 8 billion USD valuation. 

Bryce: [00:02:52] So it popped. It definitely popped. And Donald Trump, coincidentally came at a time where Donald Trump was trying to fork out almost half $1 billion, for a bond that was due through his trials in court. At the time, I think he owns about just under half of the company or thereabouts. 

Alec: [00:03:10] So when it was 8 billion, his stake was worth 3 billion. So, yeah, just under half.

Bryce: [00:03:15] So multimillionaire. 

Alec: [00:03:17] He can't sell for six months. His shares escrowed or locked up for six months. So, he's not liquid at the moment. 

Bryce: [00:03:25] No it's Not. 

Bryce: [00:03:27] And this one also came out of nowhere for me. I didn't know that it was this close to an IPO like I was. I didn't know this was on the cards. And so for me, like, I was just like, oh, wow. This is just come out of nowhere. However, over the weekend, overnight, their financials were released and, it's not good news. The stock fell 20% after it was revealed that the company lost almost $60 million last year. And an auditor disclose substantial doubt, quote, over its ability to continue operating. 

Alec: [00:04:01] So, it made $4.1 million in revenue in 2023, and it made a loss of $58 million. And so the question is, how much money does it have on its balance sheet? So I had a look at TIKR. tikr.com/equitymates, if you want to jump on it's a really great source of company level information. According to TIKR, it has 1.84 million in cash on its balance sheet. Million. While it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That sort of puts the auditor's comment in perspective. 

Bryce: [00:04:32] Absolutely substantial doubt over its ability to continue operating. So I guess one to watch. I've never been on the platform. Don't intend to go on it, don't intend to own any stock. But Donald Donald continues, being Donald always makes the most of us. Our opportunity. 

Alec: [00:04:48] So before we move on, I just want to put my tinfoil hat on for one second and just make it very clear that this is all, conspiratorial and not at all proven. So Jeff Yass is a major Republican donor and a major shareholder in ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. TikTok is obviously in the news because the US government is trying to force a sale. On TikTok. Yes. Jeff Yass becomes, major shareholder in, in truth, social justice as it goes public helps it get this massive valuation. And around that same time, Trump also comes out and says he opposes the sale, the policy to, to force the sale of Tik Tok. Even though it was his idea when he was president. So connect those threads, as you will if you want to connect to those threads. 

Bryce: [00:05:46] Love a conspiracy.

Alec: [00:05:46] It just creates this whole financial situation, creates these possibilities. And you know, Trump's out there selling sneakers and Bibles. And anyway, it's a recipe for challenge in the same way that like in the last in his last administration, there were stories of, you know, the Saudis booking out Trump hotels for months longer than they were staying there. Now people can pump stock. 

Bryce: [00:06:15] Yeah. Yeah. 

Alec: [00:06:16] Anyway, take the tinfoil hat off and move on. Let's talk about Reddit.

Bryce: [00:06:19] Let's talk about Reddit. And there's no greater juxtaposition here, because when you have a look at Reddit's valuation, I think it's currently sitting around $7.5 billion. It does $804 million in sales. Compare that to Truth Socials for 4.1 million. So yes, last time we spoke about the IPO for Reddit, we both put, some predictions on the line as to what would happen on day one and then how it would finish by the end of the week. So Ren you, said that on day one, it would pop, up to 15% and then end the week flat. I said that it would pop, greater than 20% and finish the week down. 

Alec: [00:07:01] So who was right?

Bryce: [00:07:02] Well, day one, it popped 48%. Huge IPO, huge IPO. It's listed at $34 and close to the day at $59.80. And, Sam Altman actually is, one of the major shareholders. His stake went from 200 million to 618 million. But it then did end the week. And, so Thursday to Thursday, it ended the week down just 2%. So we're both pretty much in the same ballpark. So it's currently trading at about 46, 45, $46.

Alec: [00:07:37] So it's still up from where it IPO. 

Bryce: [00:07:38] It is still up from the IPO price down from the obviously the close.

Alec: [00:07:42] So if that's confusing for people, it's like when they go to investment banks and shareholders before it actually lists on the share market and they raise money. They were selling shares at $35 a share. But then when it starts trading as a public company, the price is just set by the market. And that first trade of someone selling their shares and someone buying them was around $50. I'm sure that's right, isn't it. 

Bryce: [00:08:08] So, yeah. Well, I guess we'll keep an eye on it. I haven't bought any stock. I don't think I intend to right now. You were sort of bullish.

Alec: [00:08:16] I'm very bullish on Reddit. I don't own anything. But it wouldn't surprise me if I do buy some. It wouldn't surprise me. I think of the social media platforms, it's got, like, an incredibly rusted on user base. I think it's got really interesting opportunities to grow and to monetise. The challenge with Reddit is a similar challenge, I guess with that, like discord would have, which is like cannot reach mainstream user acceptance. Like, will our parents ever use Reddit? Probably not. Well, our parents probably use Instagram and Facebook. The question is just how big can it be? But Reddit is loyal like you don't have. You don't have a much more rusted on and I count myself amongst them. But you don't have a much more trusted user base than Reddit.

Bryce: [00:09:09] Yeah, they've done well, and they offered 75,000 of their most rusted on users stock in the company, which I think is just such a great idea. But then closing out, some of the news that we've touched on over the last couple of weeks, Ren, we spoke about the downfall of Boeing. You have, an IC following gives you the IC. But, you know, we spoke about the opportunity that it might be presenting from an investment point of view, you know, looking at those companies that are down and out, but also the strategic position that it has with the US government and the fact that it's just in a duopoly and those sorts of things. Since speaking about it, the CEO, Dave Calhoun, stepped down. He'll be leaving at the end of the year. He was only four years into the job. Stepped in in 2019, but just wasn't able to, stepped in it. Incredibly tough time, to be honest. Covid hits as he starts. Yeah, but still wasn't able to get on top of the manufacturing issues. We spoke about the safety mishaps, so I think it was more just, you need you need to go. And then, also, that board chair, Larry Kellner, has told the company that he doesn't plan to stand for re-election. So moves continue to happen. We sort of said that we weren't at the we might not have been at the bottom of Boeing yet, but it looks like they're putting things in place to try and turn the ship around. Yeah. Or should I say plane? 

Alec: [00:10:22] I would love to be the CEO that comes in now because it's like it's pretty obvious what they have to do. It's like, forget the financial engineering, focus on actual engineering, reassure their customers of their safety record. Invest heavily in like really robust safety checks manufacturing process. And you could just imagine that like a CEO that refocuses on product, like how invigorated the team and workers would be to be like, all right, let's go. Like what we're doing is now the centre point of this company and you've got a massive brand, you've got a massive order book, you've got really strong relationships around the world. You've got the implicit backing of the US government, like in terms of a turnaround story. There's a lot tougher turnarounds in the world of business than what you have to do about. One fun fact Dave Calhoun might be gone, but he will certainly be cheering on Boeing from the sidelines. Even just his four years as CEO. He has $51 million in stock options and grants that ride on the share price reaching certain milestones. Or, you know, he would only exercise his options if it. Yeah, if it reaches a certain price. So, you know, he may not have been there for very long, but he has 51 million reasons that he hopes the company does well. And if it does, that certainly sets him up for the rest of his life. 

Bryce: [00:11:55] We are back with Pimp my Portfolio. We've got our expert Luke Laretive from Seneca. Luke, how are you?

Luke: [00:12:01] Good, Bryce. How are you, mate? 

Bryce: [00:12:02] So, the purpose of this segment, we have community members submitting your portfolio so Luke can put his critical eye over it to suggest some ways that we can think about improving our portfolios. We have so many submissions, and today we have one coming in from Claire. She's not on the line, but is asked if we can go through her portfolio regardless. So as always, we'll start with a bit of a breakdown in what our portfolio looks like, Ren. 

Alec: [00:12:26] So this one is an easier one to, unpack. There's five positions. Four of them are ETFs, and then there's one individual stock. So we've got NDQ making up 60% of the portfolio, the Nasdaq 100 ATF. And then we've got AC, DC, then I think that's a global X, a renewable energy and battery, ETF 20-23% of the portfolio. So those two together 83% of the portfolio. Next up we have semi which is the global X semiconductor ETF 11% of the portfolio. VDHG. The Vanguard Diversified High Growth ETF makes up 6%. So for people playing along at home that's 99% of the portfolio. And then finally making up the final 1% of the portfolio is an individual stock AVH, which is Avita Medical. So Luke? 

Bryce: [00:13:21] What's the name? 

Luke: [00:13:22] The name of this one is NDexcuse Me. So.

Alec: [00:13:31] Explain that.

Luke: [00:13:32] Well, like 60% of your money in NDQ. So, look, I don't mind. And a Q is a as an ETF, you know, I got you guys know I'm not the biggest ETF lover in the world, but, it's concentrated. You know, it's kind of giving you a high sensitivity to a lot of those tech names. It's got some decent weights in it. So like it, you know, some stock moves actually matter. It's not the worst product at that face. I know it's reasonable. So yeah, it's not the worst product out there. That being said, 60% of your money tied up in tech is as much as tech's fabulous and blah blah, blah it is not where I would want to be. Like, I've sort of been saying I like diversified sources of growth. And that is really, you know, a relatively diversified source of growth. You know, there's lots of good things happening in Indian equities at the moment. There's lots of good things happening in value, European value stocks. There's lots of good small and mid-cap ideas that haven't been part of the equity market rally. We've seen, you know, broadly driven by, you know, 7 or 10 stocks. So, I think that having diversification in your portfolio at a, at a, at a macro level, you know, asset classes along with your risk profile is really important. But if you are going to run 100% equities, you need to be sourcing those returns from multiple varied sources geographically, but more importantly stylistically. And I think that's where everyone kind of goes a little bit wrong.

Alec: [00:15:01] So I guess the starting point there is probably, to look at NDQ and VDHG, the Vanguard diversified, high growth, Vanguard diversified high growth is 6% of the portfolio index, 60% flip value. Yeah. If you just flipped those, that would kind of answer some of what you were talking about. 

Luke: [00:15:18] Yeah, I mean I would think for ETFs it's probably excessive in my view. And I, I know you guys always told me not to do this, but this is the perfect example of someone who probably could just have a look at one holding in a multi-asset ETF and be done with it. Diversify those gains that you've made and find something that's more sustainable for you long term. And to a point maybe where, you find another thing that you want to, to, to chase, something shiny in the corner of your eye, but it's not necessarily what you have to do. There's no reason you can't just stick with that core, only type approach. And, I'm about it. I like discipline. I like the edge being, you know, you're more patient than the average investor, and you're more disciplined than the average investor. And I think that works long term as an edge.

Bryce: [00:16:09] So for Claire and for many other people in this situation where they find themselves. For whatever reason. Maybe it was the first stock they bought and it's just ripped. You know, they're very overweight. And now the suggestion is you need to transfer a bit of that to some more diversified positions. The VDHG position, as Ren said, is only 6%. The following question then, is, are you saying the best approach is to sell out, or is it anything that is, I guess now allocated to the market should just be going in. How do you think about approaching that?

Luke: [00:16:43] It really depends on the client's situation, to be honest. And it's probably beyond the scope of what we're trying to do today. I think the concept is to, to understand that, you know, as we've talked about recently, it's not a, not all ETFs are made equal. Not all ETFs are diversified and not all ETFs are index tracking in the pure sense of the sort of theoretical ETF that we talk about. So, I would just like to say people with gains in stuff that they hand on heart just don't really understand or know why they've made money. Be fortunate enough to say, hey, I've made money here. But the good graces of, you know, the world of luck. And now I want to lock those gains in and let them compound for me for 20- 30, whatever years. Right. And I think that's where people get caught is that they have trouble selling. And my personal approach with my own money is when something's expensive, it's gone. You know, and like I've said before on the 44th fourth day, not on the 364th day, but there's, you know, it does matter the tax side of it, but not as much. Maybe it's because people put weight on it. I'm quite happy to pay tax. That means I've made money. 

Alec: [00:17:59] Yeah, yeah. And we don't all have Cayman Islands Shell Corporation structures to avoid tax like you do. Yeah I mean that's the challenge, all things being equal and tax not being a factor. You would say rebalance tomorrow. 

Luke: [00:18:17] And, you know, get to your ideal portfolio as quickly as possible. I've said it on this board before and I'll continue to say it if you've, you know, you've been on a journey of learning and going up the, you know, the skill curve, for lack of a better word, in investing as a topic. Don't be afraid to put it all to work. There's no point learning if you don't apply it. You know it's no good in the textbook. It's got to be in your portfolio. So, get to that ideal portfolio ASAP.

Alec: [00:18:44] Now, one final question, Luke. Avita medical, the one individual stock position. Have you heard of the company? What do you think? 

Luke: [00:18:50] Yes, I like to invest in my zone of competence. Biotech healthcare tech probably just isn't in that zone. So, I've heard good things about it. I've heard not so good things about it. I don't know, it's not never something I've owned. I've never owned any of these types, you know, whether it's PolyNovo or this or Maser Blast or any of these kinds of stocks. I've never owned them. I just, I don't know, there's other places to make money other than to make money in the markets. And I just choose not to make money that way. In the same way I, you know, don't invest in lots of other types of companies too. 

Bryce: [00:19:30] Nice. Well the takeaway here for Claire. Good start. But redistribute some of that weighting towards some more diversified ETFs in the portfolio. So thank you to Claire for submitting your portfolio, her portfolio, if you'd like to submit and either come on the show or just have Luke, Ren and I chat through it, head to equitymates.com/contact. All the information is there. Similarly, if you'd love to sit down with Luke in your own time and get him to, look at your portfolio in a bit more detail, head to equitymates.com/advice and we will connect you. As always Luke thanks for your time. We'll pick it up in the next Pimp My portfolio.

Luke: [00:20:06] Looking forward to it. 

Bryce: [00:20:11] So we're going to take a very quick break. And on the other side we are unpacking the book of the month, The Widow Clicquot. So we'll be right back. Welcome back to Equity Mates. It is time for the book club. That's it. I've been watching YouTube this month. Ren's been reading Books. 

Alec: [00:20:33] What do you mean? What do you mean by seeing on YouTube? 

Bryce: [00:20:37] The usual stuff remains. I'm deep into the world of people renovating chateaus. Yeah, yeah, and I found one. I found a guy who's now doing a multi-story chateau in France. Solo. It's just amazing. Yeah. I just don't understand how this kid has a wife, has two kids, has a wife. 

Alec: [00:20:59] Well, I mean, is this his full time job, though? Like, he's. 

Bryce: [00:21:01] He definitely looks like a 

Alec: [00:21:02] Yeah. So he's just filming YouTube. Is he a builder? 

Bryce: [00:21:06] Well, he definitely has he definitely looks like he has the like he has all the tools. Yeah. It's just amazing though. Like his. He's there from sunrise to sunset. Taking revenue from YouTube. Yeah. Building a chateau.

Alec: [00:21:21] But also like, would be building a chateau and then selling it. Is that the idea? Because, like, people flip houses in Australia. 

Bryce: [00:21:28] This is not yet. This is not your casual flip, though. This thing. This thing. This is a year, two years project like you'll take. I'll be watching this guy till I'm 40. So there's no like, I doubt he'll. I think you'll live in it. But anyway.

Alec: [00:21:43] Let's stay tuned for chateau mates coming, soon. But let's stay in France for, book club, because the book that I read was the best I've read. I think you didn't read that I read this month, suggested by Amy, who filled out the form at equitymates.com/contact and suggested this book. So thank you, Amy, because it was a crack. I really enjoyed it and I hadn't heard of it. It's called The Widow Clicquot, The story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman who ruled it by Tiler J. Mazzeo. So, all about champagne. Nice. And the rise of champagne in the 18 or late 1700s, but more, early 1800s. 

Bryce: [00:22:26] And so was Clicquot. Were they like the first leading champagne brand? 

Alec: [00:22:32] I'll get there. One of The Widow Clicquot's contemporaries was Jean-Rémy Moët A name that might sound familiar. So for people who don't drink a lot of champagne, Clicquot You're probably familiar. 

Bryce: [00:22:48] I'm familiar.

Alec: [00:22:49] Yeah. With what brand. 

Bryce: [00:22:50] Veuve [

Alec: [00:22:51] Yeah. Clicquot Yeah. Do you know what the French word for widow is? 

Bryce: [00:22:57] Veuve, Widow Clicquot 

Alec: [00:22:59] Yeah. So, like, it's literally the widow click is the right brand name. And this is the woman, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. I think her full name is the woman behind it. Before we get into the story, because I got some fun facts. And then there's some, like, broader business lessons that we can take out of it, but just a little bit of the history of champagne. So whilst the French claim that they invented sparkling wine. And there's this whole narrative about Dom Perignon, who was, a fry, in the champagne region who made one sparkling wine? That was a story actually invented for, like, the world fair in Paris, in the late 1800s to give champagne, like an origin story. The French would hate me for saying this, but it was actually the British that invented champagne. And there's pretty strong historical information at the time that whilst the French, including Dom Perignon, were desperately trying to stop wine fermenting and take the sparkle out of wine. Yeah. Well, yeah. The British were trying to give it a second fermentation and make Sparkling wine. Yeah. So, that's a little fun fact. We just lost all our listeners in France. 

Bryce: [00:24:19] So don't. So it's just on. Right? So Dom Pérignon was trying to make it. Is credited as making. But he was actually trying to do the reverse.

Alec: [00:24:30] Yeah. Yes. He was one of those winemakers trying to make that wine, not sparkling wine. Because the way that you make champagne is you make it wine. Yeah. And then you add more sugar or molasses. Yeah, yeah. And you add. Yeah. Basically more sugar. And then the bacteria then eats that and it's like a second fermentation and it's sparkling. That's sort of the history. Also another fun fact: widows have a massive history in the world of champagne. So there's The Widow Clicquot, Which is what this book is about. And then there's Louise Pomeroy. Familiar with her friend. Oh, yeah. So she was a widow in the 1850s and 1960s. And the fun fact about her is before Pomeroy, the champagne that was being. It is very different to the champagne that we drink today, because it was so much sweeter, and it was particularly a lot sweeter for the Russians because the Russians loved sweet champagne. And that was where a lot of the export sales out of France were going in the early days, to Prussia and to Russia. 

Bryce: [00:25:38] So no, no dry, crisp? 

Alec: [00:25:41] No. The Brut champagne, that is like the conventional one that most of us drink today at weddings and stuff like that, was made for the British palate because the British didn't want it as sweet. And that was Louise Palmer, his innovation. She made the Brut and she opened up the British market as a major export market. So she was another widow in the champagne world and then also Lily Bollinger in the 1940s. She didn't really create her company. But she grew it a lot. Another widow. So just a quirk of history that some of those people understand. 

Bryce: [00:26:16] Yeah. How were these brands originated from. 

Alec: [00:26:20] So to turn to The Widow Clicquot's story, to give you the context from 1790 to 1830. Champagne sales across the industry increased almost 1,000%. They went from a few hundred thousand bottles a year to over 5 million bottles a year in that 40 year time period. And then by the turn of the 20th century. So by 1900, it was 20 million bottles a year. And a lot of that growth in the industry was driven by this woman, The Widow Clicquot. She is really known for three things internationalising the champagne market, establishing brand identification in champagne. And then finally she developed a process known as remauge, which is, to clear the yeasty debris trapped in the bottle after the secondary fermentation. Not something that you want in your wine. So she's known on, like, the business side and then also on the winemaking side. And that's part of why she's such a legend. But she wasn't the only famous name getting around at that time. Some of her contemporaries were, tell me if those names sound familiar. Jean-Rémy Moët. Pierre-Gabriel Chandon. Jules Mumm. Louis Roederer.

Bryce: [00:27:43] No, I don't know that. 

Alec: [00:27:44] Yeah. I don't know how to say that one. And then, Louise Pomeroy. 

Speaker 2: [00:27:51] Yeah. Well. 

Alec: [00:27:52] All of those were getting around in the early to mid 19th century, so like the 1800s. And that was really when the world globally went from family businesses to industrialisation. And the same thing happened in the wine, in the champagne business. And a lot of the big champagne houses we know today started at that close. So number one business lesson sometimes I like, you know, sometimes being born in the right place at the right time, not as a lock. That was quite interesting. Turning to the book itself. Never have I read the word perhaps more in the history book. And that was because. 

Bryce: [00:28:31] It's fiction. 

Alec: [00:28:33] There just wasn't a lot of history. But partly because she was a woman. There wasn't a lot written about The Widow Clicquot. And so there are business records about, like, how many bottles were sold. There are some letters, but, like, there's a lot that's not known about her. So there's a lot of, like, perhaps, Bob Nichol read this because it was released in this year and it was, you know, so but that aside, it was a fascinating story because this story coincides with the French Revolution. And then the First Republic for a couple of years, and then Napoleon and then the Napoleonic Wars and then, the French kings being reinstalled and then the second Revolution, and the Second Republic. It's like this broad historical narrative and then this wine story in this book. And so I learnt so much about that time in France. And because all these champagne makers were trying to export into these markets where they were also at war with these markets, it was like, you know, she's trying to like make end runs around blockades and like trying to, keep what she's doing from Napoleon and also from, like the Russian tsar and fascinating like historical story and a real lesson. And this is the second business lesson, that the best moments can come from the very worst. And so both, Jean-Rémy Moët and The Widow Clicquot were trying to really open up Russia as a market, and they were desperate and they weren't having a lot of luck. And her sale, her top salesman, was seen as a spy and was like, run out of town in Russia. They just couldn't open Russia up as a market in any meaningful full size. She was fast running out of money. She had fired all but one of her sales team. Like this business was going down the toilet. And the Napoleonic Wars culminate in the champagne region. And the alliance of the British and the Russians and the Prussians all fighting the French, occupy the champagne region, and the cellars of a lot of champagne makers get looted, including Jean-Rémy Moët, who in the war lost more than half a million bottles of champagne, which he think could ruin most. But, he was quoted as saying at the time, all these officers who ruined me today will make my fortune tomorrow. All those who drink my wine, a salesman who, on returning to their own country, will make the product and make the product they did. Because after the war, the legend of like, champagnes, wine, little champagne regions, wine spread across Europe. And it just led to a frenzy after the war. And that is just the story of how they kept up with demand. And they managed to export sparkling wine in bottles that were prone to explode. And, you know, there's a hole there's a whole bunch going on there. But yeah, like the absolute worst of times, losing the war, being occupied, having your cell is looted. Ultimately led to champagne being a global brand. Yeah. So look, the fascinating book hates more I can talk about, but I think that probably sums it up and gives you a little bit of a taste of the world of champagne. 

Bryce: [00:31:55] That's epic. So glad I don't need to read it. Thank you. That's fascinating. And you know, for those that don't know, Clicquot is owned by LVMH. So I think it was bought in the mid 80s or something like that. I can't remember but yeah now owned by LVMH. But I mean these are champagne brands that are indestructible, like the association they now have with luxury and status and and all those you name Pomeroy, Moët, Firth, Klitschko, Hennessy to whatever the other Henschke or whatever it was. Hudson. Yeah. Whatever it was. Yeah. Pretty fascinating. Didn't know. 

Alec: [00:32:39] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaking of these, how powerful these brands are, the history of these brands becomes their moat in and of themselves. Like, even if someone creates a heap of better champagne, the idea of, like, less champagne taking on these big champagne houses is tough. 

Bryce: [00:32:59] Very. Yeah. The biggest winner is Dom Perignon 

Alec: [00:33:03] Why is that?

Bryce: [00:33:03] We didn't start it. But he's credited as the godfather of champagne. 

Alec: [00:33:09] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, for this month, we're going to go a little bit harder investing in terms of the book. So the Aswath Damodaran interview that we did a couple of weeks ago now, very much worth listening to if you haven't listened to it. Really inspiring conversation. It's inspired me so much that I've picked up one of his books, and that's what I'm going to read this month. 

Bryce: [00:33:35] Not one of his university finance Textbooks.

Alec: [00:33:39] Probably the easiest of his books to read. So hopefully people, come along the journey and read along for this month's book club. The book is called The Little Book of Valuation, by Aswath Damodaran. So pick it up, jump on board, and we'll do this again in a month's time. 

Bryce: [00:33:59] Epic. Well, if you do read it, make sure you jump into the Equity Mates Facebook group. And, we'd love to, to hear your thoughts and, get you to contribute to the book club as we go throughout the year. But yeah, to echo Ren, if you haven't listened to the Aswath interview we did about 2 or 3 weeks ago, thereabouts. It'll be in the feed. It was phenomenal for any level of investor. It was very inspiring. So yeah, make sure you give that a listen now equitymates.com/contacts. If you'd like to leave a book club recommendation, if you'd like to submit to Pimp my portfolio, if you'd like to leave a question, it is all there, on the website. But Ren, as always, great to chat stocks and markets. 

Alec: [00:34:38] And Champagne. 

Bryce: [00:34:39] Is sold out. 

Alec: [00:34:40] So that's good. 

Bryce: [00:34:42] We will be going live here in Sydney in about a week and we cannot wait. But tomorrow will be in your feeds with a buy or sell with Adam. So then we'll leave it there.

Alec: [00:34:50] Sounds good.