4 ms·

Just one example of why SPACs need to be looked at from a regulatory perspective: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/chamath-palihapitiya-backed-clover-health-get

by cj 6y ago

Just one example of why SPACs need to be looked at from a regulatory perspective: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/chamath-palihapitiya-backed-clover-health-gets-notice-of-sec-investigation.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/chamath-palihapitiya-backed-... In short, Clover Health is going public via a SPAC, but never disclosed it was under investigation by the DOJ. > Clover said it decided it did not need to disclose the DOJ inquiries after consultation with its lawyers. The company did not say what the DOJ’s inquiries were about. SPACs short-cut disclosure requirements, making it easier for companies to go public without the typical scrutiny that comes with the IPO process.

optimiz3 6y ago
Not long ago short sellers were claiming Tesla was in trouble with the DoJ over the Model 3. Ended up a big nothing; we don't know if there is any meat here. https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/11/02/tesla-says-doj-and-sec-are-investigating-model-3-production-targets.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/11/02/tesla-says-doj-and-sec-a...
- cj 6y ago
  Yes, very possible there is zero meat to the actual investigation. And very possible it's just the short seller pushing a narrative to drive the price down. But how do we know the truth when there are no disclosures? As an investor, you should have a right to be informed of investment risks. An active/ongoing DOJ investigation (even if routine) seems like something investors would need to be aware of to make an informed investment decision.
woah 6y ago
Chamath first came to my attention last week when he introduced his run for California governor by promising to give everyone free money and cut taxes to zero. He then bought into GameStop stock, pumped it, and sold at the top while many gullible fools lost their life savings. What a shady dude.
- optimiz3 6y ago
  Chamath sold GME the day after the purchase and donated the proceeds. The purchase was announced on Twitter after soliciting a community investment idea. The sale was announced the following day on CNBC. Shady it was not, and I don't know how much more transparency you could want here.
  - lupire 6y ago
    He dumped the stock before the supposed short squeeze that was the alleged reason for the price runup.
    - Svettie 6y ago
      so what? Countless other people did the same thing, it's a public market.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  I invested in one of Chamath’s SPAC plays (not because of Chamath). He is legit as far as I can tell. The company is solid, has an amazing hard tech product and everything has worked out great so far. I have no doubt that everything is honest and that the company will do amazingly well in the next decades. The founders have great track records. This is something like the 4th unicorn the CEO has created and gone public with or exited via buyout. I don’t think he would choose to partner with Chamath if the guy was shady.
- hntrader 6y ago
  Agreed on the shadiness. I think the GME pump wasn't a direct attempt by him to make money (since he donated proceeds), it was mostly a strategy to get publicity and align him with the retail investor crowd on social media so that his next SPAC gets pumped. He was able to pump his CLOV position 10% today for example, using a single Tweet.
- BaconJuice 6y ago
  what does gullible fools dumping money on GME options have to do with Chamath?
paulgb 6y ago
He also fanned the flames of outrage at Robinhood over PFOF, while SPACing a competitor who does the same things he critisizes Robinhood for.[1] Probably not illegal, but leaves a bad taste. I get the surface-level appeal of this guy's narrative (especially his CNBC appearences), but I don't get the idolatry towards him. He's not some sort of people's hero, he's just another rich guy who sometimes has cathartic rants about other rich people in order to get richer. [1] https://twitter.com/tysonbrody/status/1355967493089669131 https://twitter.com/tysonbrody/status/1355967493089669131
- WanderPanda 6y ago
  From my observations I think he has the gift of being utterly convincing in the way he speaks while also having a good track record. But only after listening a lot to him I started noticing, that the points he conveys of being the definitive true answer to something start contradicting other things he said earlier.
  - lupire 6y ago
    His track record is for making money, which isn't obviously good for anyone else
    - _jal 6y ago
      There is a category of person for whom wealth is social proof of being worth listening to. Doesn't matter how they got it, this type of person is simply attracted to wealth.
    - optimiz3 6y ago
      A track record for making money is usually one of the first things people consider when evaluating who to invest along side of.
  - laughingman2 6y ago
    His narrative pushing feels nefarious to me. I think he is using his new tech podcast (all-in) as a new platform to build a image of a pragmatic do-gooder billionare (to whomever who would buy that shtick), spin a new narrative and test out few ideas like (remove capital gains tax, he running for governorship) for approval. If GME debacle taught us (again?) anything, it's that markets are moved by narratives. And those raccoons who control the narrative can move the market towards their favour. Great post on epsilon theory on this https://www.epsilontheory.com/hunger-games/ https://www.epsilontheory.com/hunger-games/

by cj 6y ago

optimiz3 6y ago

Not long ago short sellers were claiming Tesla was in trouble with the DoJ over the Model 3. Ended up a big nothing; we don't know if there is any meat here. https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/11/02/tesla-says-doj-and-sec-are-investigating-model-3-production-targets.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/11/02/tesla-says-doj-and-sec-a...

cj 6y ago
Yes, very possible there is zero meat to the actual investigation. And very possible it's just the short seller pushing a narrative to drive the price down. But how do we know the truth when there are no disclosures? As an investor, you should have a right to be informed of investment risks. An active/ongoing DOJ investigation (even if routine) seems like something investors would need to be aware of to make an informed investment decision.

woah 6y ago

Chamath first came to my attention last week when he introduced his run for California governor by promising to give everyone free money and cut taxes to zero. He then bought into GameStop stock, pumped it, and sold at the top while many gullible fools lost their life savings. What a shady dude.

optimiz3 6y ago
Chamath sold GME the day after the purchase and donated the proceeds. The purchase was announced on Twitter after soliciting a community investment idea. The sale was announced the following day on CNBC. Shady it was not, and I don't know how much more transparency you could want here.
- lupire 6y ago
  He dumped the stock before the supposed short squeeze that was the alleged reason for the price runup.
  - Svettie 6y ago
    so what? Countless other people did the same thing, it's a public market.
rorykoehler 6y ago
I invested in one of Chamath’s SPAC plays (not because of Chamath). He is legit as far as I can tell. The company is solid, has an amazing hard tech product and everything has worked out great so far. I have no doubt that everything is honest and that the company will do amazingly well in the next decades. The founders have great track records. This is something like the 4th unicorn the CEO has created and gone public with or exited via buyout. I don’t think he would choose to partner with Chamath if the guy was shady.
hntrader 6y ago
Agreed on the shadiness. I think the GME pump wasn't a direct attempt by him to make money (since he donated proceeds), it was mostly a strategy to get publicity and align him with the retail investor crowd on social media so that his next SPAC gets pumped. He was able to pump his CLOV position 10% today for example, using a single Tweet.
BaconJuice 6y ago
what does gullible fools dumping money on GME options have to do with Chamath?

paulgb 6y ago

He also fanned the flames of outrage at Robinhood over PFOF, while SPACing a competitor who does the same things he critisizes Robinhood for.[1] Probably not illegal, but leaves a bad taste. I get the surface-level appeal of this guy's narrative (especially his CNBC appearences), but I don't get the idolatry towards him. He's not some sort of people's hero, he's just another rich guy who sometimes has cathartic rants about other rich people in order to get richer. [1] https://twitter.com/tysonbrody/status/1355967493089669131 https://twitter.com/tysonbrody/status/1355967493089669131

WanderPanda 6y ago
From my observations I think he has the gift of being utterly convincing in the way he speaks while also having a good track record. But only after listening a lot to him I started noticing, that the points he conveys of being the definitive true answer to something start contradicting other things he said earlier.
- lupire 6y ago
  His track record is for making money, which isn't obviously good for anyone else
  - _jal 6y ago
    There is a category of person for whom wealth is social proof of being worth listening to. Doesn't matter how they got it, this type of person is simply attracted to wealth.
  - optimiz3 6y ago
    A track record for making money is usually one of the first things people consider when evaluating who to invest along side of.
- laughingman2 6y ago
  His narrative pushing feels nefarious to me. I think he is using his new tech podcast (all-in) as a new platform to build a image of a pragmatic do-gooder billionare (to whomever who would buy that shtick), spin a new narrative and test out few ideas like (remove capital gains tax, he running for governorship) for approval. If GME debacle taught us (again?) anything, it's that markets are moved by narratives. And those raccoons who control the narrative can move the market towards their favour. Great post on epsilon theory on this https://www.epsilontheory.com/hunger-games/ https://www.epsilontheory.com/hunger-games/