🤩 Investors went mad for gold

Gold celebrated a new all-time high | Monzo felt the love from investors | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH     Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for March 7th in 3:13 minutes.   🥜 Finimized over a nut butter fudge smoothie at [JuiceBaby]( in London, UK (☁️ 11°C/52°F) Today's big stories - Gold prices hit a record high, proving the metal’s position as investors’ safe haven of choice - A simple checkup can help you see how your stocks might handle a market plunge – [Read Now]( - British fintech darling Monzo secured a round of funding that pulled its valuation up to $5 billion Gold-Plated [Gold-Plated] What’s going on here? Gold [touched]( an all-time high on Tuesday, after investors decided to protect their portfolios with a long-lasting, resilient, good-lookin’ coating. What does this mean? The word on the street is that central banks will start bringing down interest rates later this year, so long as inflation stays at bay. That might explain gold’s latest feat: the precious metal’s contract price for April tipped over $2,100 per ounce for the first time ever. See, lower interest rates tend to indicate that an economy needs a leg up, so investors often flock toward “safe-haven” assets that can hold their value during periods of volatility to cover their backs. That’s been compounded by last Friday’s weak manufacturing data from the US, which set an ominous tone for stocks, encouraging investors to swap them for more stable investments. Why should I care? Zooming out: We could learn a lot from the ‘80s. World news is a bleak read these days, with rising political tensions and wars spreading across the globe. That uncertainty is practically an advert for gold, which has helped investors steady their finances for centuries. There’s no limit for the metal, after all. Sure, the latest price is its highest ever, following a 600% increase since the start of the millennium. But its inflation-adjusted peak from 1980 would land over $3,000 today, putting that $2,100 price tag to shame. The bigger picture: The gold of the interwebs. Bitcoin’s been bringing in safe-haven-seeking investors, too. Despite being notoriously volatile, the OG crypto’s limited supply is said to keep a floor under its price, even in trickier times. That, plus the recently approved bitcoin spot ETFs and the upcoming halving effect that’ll strangle its supply further, has pushed the crypto’s price up 52% this year. Bear in mind, though, that bitcoin’s climb won’t be as smooth as gold’s: Tuesday’s 7% drop made that clear. You might also like: [Bitcoin may be on the verge of an even bigger move.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Gold-Plated&utm_campaign=daily-global-07-03-2024&utm_source=email) Analyst Take To Take The Fear Out Of A Possible Market Selloff, You Need A Stress Test [To Take The Fear Out Of A Possible Market Selloff, You Need A Stress Test]( By Paul Allison, CFA, Analyst If you start worrying about a crash the minute you find out your [stocks or crypto]( have hit an all-time high, that doesn’t make you a pessimist. The fact is, a little wobble in the market can pretty quickly turn into something [uglier](. So if you’re worried that might happen, but you still feel pretty confident about the long-term prospects of your investments, there’s only [one thing]( to do. That’s today’s Insight: [a well-timed reminder about this simple two-step stress test](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY CROWDCUBE AND FUEL VENTURES Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. [Take 2 minutes to learn more.]( Past performance is no indication of future success. Your venture capital aspirations: now a tenth of the price Venture capitalists have three things: big wallets, high-caliber connections, and trouble sleeping. You, though, can trade all three of those for one replacement: access to [Crowdcube and Fuel Ventures' collaboration](. And even better, you’ve got that on lock. [SEIS funds]( invest in early-stage companies, ones that aren’t usually available to retail investors. Usually, it costs around £20,000 to buy into one – but with Fuel Ventures', you just need a tenth of that. [Fuel Ventures]( has spent ten years investing in ambitious self-starters – and it’s paid off: the EIS Funds helped sell ContentCal to Adobe for $110 million and Capdesk to Carta for $88 million. So now thanks to [Crowdcube and Fuel Ventures](, you can [make like a venture capitalist](, without losing sleep like one. [Find Out More]( Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. [Take 2 minutes to learn more.]( Past performance is no indication of future success. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. If you want your brand featured here, [get in touch.]( Full Flush [Full Flush] What’s going on here? Monzo announced this week that it [secured]( fresh funding, at a valuation hot enough to turn established banks’ cheeks coral pink. What does this mean? Monzo was one of the first online banks to challenge British legacy lenders back in 2015. Before long, customers all over the country had swapped finicky card readers for promises to “Monzo” each other. The fintech firm now wants to decorate wallets the world over, specifically eyeing up the US, Germany, and France. And that suddenly looks a lot more achievable, with Monzo raising $430 million from new and existing investors. What’s more, the fundraising round – led by Alphabet’s growth fund CapitalG – valued the fintech at $5 billion, a tidy upgrade from the $4.5 billion price tag it earned in 2021 from investors including Chinese tech giant Tencent. Why should I care? The bigger picture: Monzo is the exception, not the norm. Interest rates are high while investor confidence is low, a combination that’s weighed down the valuations of fellow high-profile startups over the last few years. In fact, European startup funding [fell]( to $45 billion last year, compared to $82 billion in 2022 and $100 billion in 2021. And even when investors are feeling generous, a valuation jolt like Monzo’s tends to be reserved for AI-focused companies these days. But with Monzo drumming up some excitement in the region’s venture capital offices, those checks could soon start getting bigger. Zooming out: A tale of two fintechs. Monzo’s valuation pales in comparison to the $33 billion that British rival Revolut earned in 2021. That might be because around half of Monzo’s revenue comes from interest, both from its own cash and the money it loans to customers. And when central banks cut interest rates this year, that revenue stream will likely be trimmed. Revolut, meanwhile, makes the bulk of its money from transaction fees when customers swap currencies or withdraw cash, subscriptions, and crypto trading commissions within its platform. You might also like: [How to invest like a venture capitalist.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Full Flush&utm_campaign=daily-global-07-03-2024&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "No one can figure out your worth but you." – Pearl Bailey (an American actress and singer) [Tweet this]( "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" You're a brilliant business with great products. (We've taken the liberty of making an assumption.) Now you need to [find the right audience](, so you can really make a sound. Our one-million-strong international [financial community]( is on the lookout for any products and services that can help them make smarter decisions with confidence. That sounds like a perfect pairing to us. [Get in touch today](. [Get Your Name Out There]( 🎯 On Our Radar 1. Meet the Ambanis. Few families could bring Rihanna out of retirement, but [this one can](. 2. Active ETFs are evolving fast. Find out how the right ones could help you [beat the market](.** 3. 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