Change is afoot for Macro Investor subscribers.
Macro Investor has joined forces with Intelligent Investor. The depth and the quality of their stock analysis and superannuation advice is excellent and is highly complementary to our top-down approach.
The Macro Investor team will write regularly for Intelligent Investor and will join the Intelligent Investor panel of experts so you can have your general advice questions answered in the Q&A at the Intelligent Investor website.
There will be no further editions of Macro Investor as a stand alone product and the Daily Trades service will cease.
I hope you have enjoyed and profited from Macro Investor. I hope too that you will follow us to our new home at Intelligent Investor.
What happens to my subscription?
I am pleased to be able to offer you a new twelve month subscription to both Intelligent Investor Share Advisor (Valued at $708) and Intelligent Investor Super Advisor (valued at $288) in lieu of your remaining Macro Investor subscription. That is a total package of one year’s excellent investment advice worth $996 per annum at no additional cost.
If you have a monthly subscription with Macro Investor, the same two Intelligent Investor products are available to you at the same price you are currently paying.
If you would prefer a refund, such is available at the pro-rata rate of weeks remaining on your subscription; a cheque will be mailed to you within 90 days.
Next steps
If you would prefer to shift with us to the Intelligent Investor, please email your approval to iimacroinvestor@gmail.com. Make sure you include your current log in ID. You will shortly receive new instructions.
If you would like the pro-rata refund, please email us at refundmi@gmail.com. Make sure you include your current log in ID, name and address.
Thank you for your continued support and we hope you will join us and the team at the Intelligent Investor.
Yours sincerely,
David Llewellyn-Smith
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
“Daily Trades service will cease”
Will “ASX Shares Daily” with The Prince return to MB?
No, but the weekly “MI Technicals” will…
Yes, model portfolios will cease.
Subscriber numbers made a good start but we couldn’t reach critical mass.
Fair enough reason.
What will happen when the 12-month try-out period finish ? Are we going to be able to review and choose whether to continue subscription with TII ? I do not necessarily want to continue to both of their share and super newsletter, can I continue my subs only to either of them ?
Yes, you can continue with both or either.
I’ve looked at their website and sample PDF newsletter (too bad it was very old edition). It looks not bad and seems to have combination of share recommendation and general economic / investment articles.
They do look professional and share similar independent philosophy of MI but with such additional costs to their subscription, we will surely expect much more from them, so I may give them a benefit of the doubt for 12 months.
Sad to hear that that business model didn’t work out for you guys, I would have liked to pay and be a part of it at some point.
I hope it doesn’t affect MacroBusiness and that you will still have time/resources to write here…
All the best. cheers
MB is powering and we have expansion plans this year.
I am sorry that the business has not worked out for the MB team.
A few questions:
Will the macro investor site and the old articles stay up for a while? Will the FARM analysis be repeated over at Intelligent Investor?
I thought FARM had a good approach to risk, it’d be a shame if it isn’t carried over.
The old MI site will stay up for three months.
At this stage FARM will not be shifting over. Possible longer term.
This may sound strange but I would quite happily subscribe to macrobusiness website.
No plans for that at this stage but what would you consider a fair price?
Not sure what would be a fair price, but I too would subscribe to MB as long as the ads are removed. I really think it goes against the MB ethos to have google ads spruiking mortgages, debt consolidation, and get rick quick spruiker ads, how to buy a house for a dollar and all that guff. There are settings in adsense where you can disable all the ads that don’t fit your website ethos, and that would be a good start.
Sorry to hear MI didn’t work out.
MI was a bit rich for my pocket as it’s unlikely I would have made investment/trading decisions based on the content, but I do think most of the analysis here on MB is great and worth paying for. I would pay $50 a year, perhaps more.
Why not put up a donate button, maybe it will just confirm that your reader base is full of tight scrooges and you will need to find another way of monetizing the site, but the results could surprise…
I don’t like donation buttons. This is not a charity, it is a business with all of the disciplines that that entails.
Then again, I suppose we could opt for some form of subscription rate based on an honesty system, which is less ignominious!
Understand the dilemma. Personally, I’d pay you to keep MB free. How much? Hard to say, but probably a hundred a year. Maybe more.
Why?
It is far more important to me that other people … the wider public … can get free access to what is IMO the best, most honest and forthright, objective and realistic analysis of our economy available on the interwebs. And, to the often stimulating and insightful additional education afforded through the comments.
Charging any form of subscription, or even compulsory sign-in (a la the locked Cupboard) to MB would only close off this vital information channel to those who most need to read it.
@Opinion8red, very good point re keeping the content free to general public. I often forward around links to MB or post them on forums when used in discussion.
I think best move would be donation button (or call it something more business oriented “Voluntary Subscription”) or maybe have a back end forum that costs $50-100pa to access while keeping front page content free.
Yes – i agree about the importance of allowing free access to as many people as possible can obtain benefit.
A few bells and whistles, some added convenience or content or no ads would be sufficient to get my subscription.
Ultimately, if an independent source of comment, analysis, news and debate is valued it requires support from those value it.
How about keeping it free, and offering a “Voluntary Subscription” option if you want to comment?
With a 10-fold multiple for astroturfers
I really value and enjoy MB.
You provide a great product here.
I would pay at least $50/yr; not put-off by $100/yr either.
Seems to be a common price point here.
The difficult part, then, is balancing the free-is-awesome with reality-costs-time-and-money models….good luck with that.
Happy to provide public or private consumer feedback, by the way; and i’m sure i’m not the only one either. Happy to be part of a forum if you need one to test the waters for more info.
Cheers.
With the rise of tablets/ smartphones etc and simple methods of making micropayments, i have found that i have happily shifted my buying habits from physical magazines / newspapers / books etc to their app equivalents.
For the first time in years i have subs to the SMH, the Oz and the economist yet MB is often my first point of call (and most time spent) simply because the commentary and debate engages me.
I would happily pay $10-20 per month and if that simply got me an ad free experience that would be more than enough.
Though to really seal the deal some additional features to raise issues ,track debates and comments would be great.
eg; The conversation site allows you to track your own comments. Which is great when you want to laugh at the dumb stuff you said 12 months previously before you learnt a thing or too.
Tend to agree. I would have thought around $40/month reasonable entry point – $10/week – what’s that – two coffees or a pint!
Oh – and my comments are never deleted…
Crikey comes in at around half that, probably still too much. Plus throws in freebies (necessity). Had to laugh – online recommendations from Mark Scott (ABC), Gillard and Swan. I think they clearly limit their potential market.
I do like their power index though.
$10 pm is fair and reasonable.
I subscribed to Crikey from very early on but lost interest when it changed hands and gradually developed a distinct political tilt, had less focus on economics and the comments started to reflect the shift in editorial stance but with added venom.
It has reached the stage in Australian politics where a party brand tells you almost nothing about the merits of a policy (especially economic policy) so any argument that relies on which party ‘proposed’ the policy is usually of little assistance in a constructive and thoughtful debate.
Yeah, the per month option is good.
And, yeah, some $10-$20/month is good for the MB quality – I really do value it.
How long do we get to decide on whether we prefer a refund?
I would like to see the extent of the MI contribution at II for a while before I decide.
If you elect to continue, a new edition was due today so there is won’t be an opportunity to trial the arrangement. Your subscription will simply roll over.
I’m not sure I’d agree that they’re “mainstream”, and part of their marketing (backed up by their recommendations) is that they’re contrarian. My criticism is that they aren’t as good as they try to have you believe, and seem to have a particularly bad history on what I would call their “high conviction” recommendations.
They also changed the way they measure their results last year to a method that made their numbers look a lot better. If they’d stuck to the original method their results would have been worse than all ords accumulation…
I agree Maz, I subscribed to Intelligent Investor a few yeas ago, but didn’t renew, because I found their analysis somewhat lacking and I lost money on several of their ‘high conviction’ picks. I don’t see this as a good move for the Macro team, sadly.
Shame to see Macroinvestor go so soon. I had just about saved up enough for a subscription. Fair pricing for macrobusiness ?
I suggest a tiered pricing structure
How about $0 for ability to view articles on a 48 hour delay, but no ability to read/add comments.
$10 pm standard subscription with basic comment functionality
+ $50 per year for added comment functionality (ability to vote on other users’ comments, track user comment history, edit comments, etc)
+ $100 per year for advanced comment functionality (e.g. reposts your comments in the form of an Epic poem, auto translates GSM & 3d1k’s comments into political language preferred by Nobel Committee members, ability to veto other users’ votes on users’ comments).
Spleen – you’re back! For some reason I thought you were holed up in Banff with a Mila Kunis look-a-like snow bunny.
I think the best method is: ZERO dollars gets access to articles (minus ability to comment, limited comments shown – editors selection), $10/month – all comments shown, no ads + ability to comment in limited function (moderated). $20/month – as above, with no moderation.
This allows new readers to see the excellent articles, and a representative slice of comments (which in some cases are more interesting than the article) to entice signups.
It segments the market a bit in respect to moderated/unmoderated… and the price point may need to be higher for unmoderated, however unmoderated subscriptions could include a standard entry on user bio that shows some of the bias (eg. MP (or staffer), RE paid social media commentator etc..)
It may be more valuable if those being paid to post comments are specifically identified/verified, rather than leaving it to a guess…. eg. 3D1K appears to be paid by someone in mining industry, but in all fairness to him/her, may actually just be someone who works/has skin in the game, therefore the interest is more self-interest rather than paid (ie. more what they really think, rather than what they are told to say). I think the current situation of ‘guess who is paid to be here’ actually does a disservice, since some will discount peoples comments without proper consideration because of who they think is paying for it…
NOTE: 3D1K — I am not saying you are necessarily being paid to make the comments you make, you may just have a healthy interest in mining. Some of your posts seem well thought out, others, not so much…
I think hiding the comments needs to be done carefully, as they are one of the many reasons people find this site so insightful.
OK I’ll be honest and say that I think pay-walling MB is a very bad idea.
Pay-walls decrease readership and lockout new blood, Pay-walls should only be relied on if the business simply cannot support the its data costs. On this point I’d still suggest that external linked storage /bandwidth be first fully explored.
In my mind the real trick is to fully exploit the market potential of your content and directly leverage eyeball growth rate. I know weasel words dont pay bills, but real sub growth is an invaluable commodity and should never be traded for a small positive cashflow.
Think of growth in terms of its PUT/CALL options value and consider what business capitalization value is lost when the growth figure has a negative sign in front of it.
.
I agree there may be a problem pay-walling a site like MB at least in terms of diversity. Look no further than the example cited above.
Was the Business Spectator model worthy of emulation – certainly it’s sale something to be celebrated by owners/founders.
Where does Macrobusiness see it positioning itself into the future (news aggregation/opinion/analysis, market, demographics and importantly, influence) – all of which I am sure are keenly discussed in the boardroom.
@3d1k,
you are quite right to mention MB’s exit plan.
I have no idea of the landscape for potential acquisitions within this space, however Fairfax’s demise is certainly not good news. Generally speaking a big name equivalent sector exit like BusinessSpectror would be considered a negative for the remaining players because the number of potential acquires decreases. the remaining news organizations will also look closely at the content supply chain and so are also likely to conclude that MB has no exit option other than them, so they don’t need to overpay.
Start-up exit planning is a real cat’n'mouse game, so as the target you must be delivering something that the acquirer has no idea how to develop for themselves. For a site like MB i’d suggest that eye-popping growth and subscriber content generation are the “magic sauce” that the old-world media wants to leverage through an MB acquisition.
I’d need to look at MB’s term sheet and cashflow before I could really comment except as general advice that VC’s absolutely hate “pay-to-play” rounds, so they will make the principals pay through dilution. At some dilution point you have to ask yourself what’s the point of continuing. If further funding requires serious equity dilution then I would consider pay-walling, but again not until I explored options like a RegD offering and possibly a backdoor listing (sorry don’t know the Aussie equivalents).
I actually think you should think big – much bigger.
Go for the content, you already have the distinct client group.
I would try either internet based business radio/talk, or maybe internet based business TV.
The daily slump of Fairfax makes now the time to muscle in. Add some decent footy coverage, and maybe more of a global business side and I would spend all day long here.
I wonder if that’s too msm or at least spreading available resources very thin!
To my mind MB has made it’s mark by exposing the widespread inadequacies of much msm analysis and reportage. It has attracted interest from proverbial ‘interested parties’ over and above its weight. This approach needs be continued as a key thread throughout its narrative (where appropriate) – hard work particularly as some msm appear to have lifted their game, but MB has demonstrated the capability.
I would see benefit in the site maintaining an apolitical stance, a site that could not be pinned left/right – serving it up to one an all and giving kudos where due – the go-to site after you watched The Insiders or read Judith Sloan or Peter Martin!
My 2c.
Will the weekly RPData house price update from MI be moved to MB now? I particularly liked to follow those charts and especially the ‘total fall from peak’ metric which doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else.
I’m sorry MI didn’t prove viable.
I manage personal funds + SMSF, but reading financial statements day in, day out is not my cup of tea. I prefer to find good managers who enjoy doing what I dislike (one person’s boredom is another’s passion).
Also, trading and charts aren’t for me.
So I was never likely to subscribe to MI.
Leading up to the GFC I rearranged my finances to get more money into super environment before the changes of July 2007.
I consulted with FPs, plus kept an eye on investment newsletters. All these professionals seemed mesmerised by each other’s opinions. In the end I took a leap of faith in my own judgement (which disagreed with advice I received from all professionals) and I chose to heed opinions I heard aired from time to time on ABC radio programs over the previous couple of years.
So, in the second half of 2007 I kept funds in cash even though professionals advised me to invest before I was left behind in an ever-rising market.
I subsequently checked out what investment newsletters (including II) recommended through that period, and for the most part they were in lockstep with the investment industry (they could see only sunshine).
My timing was serendipitous. If I hadn’t needed to sell investments to move money into SMSF I think it is unlikely that I would have converted a substantial portion of my portfolio into cash before the meltdown of markets.
I remain ever grateful to ABC for airing contrarian views.
I might lack skills and sufficient interest to decide what to invest in, but I want to understand how the world’s economy functions and how it got into this unholy mess (e.g. how money works, what QE is and what might its ramifications be).
I’d also like to contribute to improving my community. I’m keen to read more about complementary currencies and maybe see if I can encourage my local Council to introduce a local currency. For example, I regularly reach a place during my walks where I can watch the trucks come down the steep section of the South Eastern Freeway into Adelaide. Due to the steep gradient there are speed restrictions on trucks with five or more axles, but not all drivers obey. It must be a bit boring to sit there in some of the big rigs as they crawl down that section of road, especially when you see other drivers break the rules and surge past you (it’s a safety issue, there have been a number of runaway trucks with some fatalities and many near misses).
As I watch the rigs crawl down I wish I could teleport myself to the bottom of the incline (at the Tollgate) and hold up a personalised banner to thank the driver for respecting other road users and driving carefully. How nice it would be if we could establish a system that identifies the good drivers and, each day one of those drivers is selected to receive complementary currency (perhaps convertible to a meal at the truck stop at Tailem Bend, or for more upmarket dining – at Utopia @ Waterfall Gully (http://www.waterfallgully.com.au/), which is at the bottom of the very popular Mt Lofty Summit Hike, or at the restaurant at the other end of the Hike – at Mt Lofty Summit (http://www.mtloftysummit.com/restaurant.htm).
(BTW Waterfall Gully was recently voted Australia’s #1 Secret Spot on Hooroo Secret Spots on Facebook http://www.expeditionaustralia.com.au/2012/12/waterfall-gully-to-mt-lofty-summit-hike-7-5km-return/)
I read the article, “How to Thrive in Social Media’s Gift Economy” over the Christmas break.
I don’t “do” FB or Twitter (not my cup of tea + where do you find the time?), and the whole “gamification” (vote for this, vote for that) of life on social media leaves me cold, however, the concept of the strength of social media being in its ability to build relationships makes a lot of sense to me.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/understanding_social_medias_gi.html
I think the Harvard article is probably correct in suggesting that social media’s strength will never lie in the conventional monetary transaction system.
For example, I think I would have offered to pay more ($s) to view MB 18 months or so ago. Harking back to the weekend discussion about comments on MB, my personal experience of MB has diminished somewhat (from 18 months ago) because I used to find the comments as interesting as – sometimes better than – the MB article itself (e.g. if I didn’t understand the article’s message – perhaps the topic was a bit too in-depth for my level of knowledge – then I sometimes picked up the gist via comments, or someone linked to another article that explained it more clearly for me).
I don’t find the comments section so useful nowadays, for reasons that were well covered on the weekend.
As for ads – I have a good Ad blocker so I don’t see them.
I heard a commentator recently state that retailers who are whinging about poor retail environment have themselves to blame. They aren’t servicing baby boomers. Baby boomers have the money. Baby boomers don’t want blaring music, or most of the merchandise on offer.
I’d say it’s the same with ads online. I feel sorry for those who must endure them. There’s got to be a better way … although I appreciate in the short term there isn’t (a better way).
At time of me posting this comment there is a fair amount of support for introducing subscription for MB. I’m not sure that would be a good first-choice. This article is more likely to be read, and thus comments come from, people who subscribed to MI. Thus, the comments are weighted towards people who are used to paying for online content – can afford, are inclined, willing etc..
MB is powering along, MI couldn’t gain critical mass – that suggests a great many readers aren’t comfortable paying conventional $s for content.
I have been unable to work due to chronic disability for the last 27 yrs. From the outset I could have purchased an expensive mansion to live in, so I qualified for DSP, but I chose to support myself by buying a modest home in a nice environment, then set about living frugally and investing carefully.
I don’t have a mobile phone, let alone any apps. (Well, technically I have a Telstra MP – blue tick, prepaid, but the $30-for-6-mths prepaid that came as a freebie with purchase long ago expired. I carry it so that I can dial 000 in an emergency.)
I have never subscribed to a newspaper, nor pay TV (I don’t have a TV).
I have the smallest available Internet download limit (with no ads to add unnecessary download it’s all I need).
I borrow magazines and books from the local library.
My mechanic reckons my car has travelled as many miles in reverse (backing out my driveway) as it has going forward! I use the bus or shank’s pony.
I think I have frugality in my DNA (there’s very slow turnover of genes in my family line due to everyone being slow to marry and reproduce).
So, while I could afford to pay $ to view MB, I might not choose to; or what others here think of as small change might not be small change for many readers.
Just thought I’d throw that in for an alternative perspective.
Thanks for sharing.
” I’m keen to read more about complementary currencies…”
Right with you there. I tend to think these may well offer the only realistic hope of humanity ever escaping the grip of the bankster-politician nexus.
Presently reading David Graeber’s “Debt: The First 5,000 Years“. Highly recommended; a real eye-opener and myth-destroyer, on many levels. In context of the above, especially enlightening with regard to the abundant evidence from across the globe and throughout recorded history, demonstrating that alternate currencies and forms of exchange have a remarkable tendency to coincide with / follow the collapse of empire and their statist-controlled “money” systems.
Please leave Macrobusiness free. It is electronic media. Electronic media (Television) has been free for many, many years. (E.g. the news on free to air TV).
It was paid for by advertisements (“sponsors”).
Radio is free. It is paid for by advertisers.
Please leave MB free – this is what makes it work. Why would owners of MB even consider making MB paid for if MI did not work as a pay only site. (Many of the MI articles were initially free on the MB site).
What about the KC Signal?? Back on MB?
Hi VV. I’ll be returning on weekends to write “Trading Week” (i.e a similar version of The Technicals from MI) to give a summation of where/what macro markets are doing.
I did look at the first issue to potentially subscribe, but I was just left confused as to what was on offer. I did not think the trades section was useful and could not see how a subscriber could follow along if they wanted to. Shame though for you guys.
Not sure I would pay for Macrobusiness. I like the site, but there is a lot of cut and pasting and reposting from other sources.
I subscribe to II and can vouch for their integrity but they can be light on content IMO. Anyway, good luck with the tie up.
You clearly do not read MB at all. The cutting and pasting you refer to is minor and is generally about making a point, not for its own sake. The original material is much greater and far more original than elsewhere.
You are spoiled here.
yes, we are spoiled; thankyou.
I really liked MI – but think the value I got best was the macro perspective, so this may be a good linkage. Good on you guys for trying new things to get it to work.
When I think of some of the gormless execs I’ve worked with, and how they sit in idea free land soaking up the monopoly premium, Australia’s preference for supporting rent seekers over innovators gets my goat.
Also, appreciate the challenge in keeping a business focus on macrobusiness, so not wanting a ‘donate’ approach but I encourage you to find a way to have a recovery option on MB that doesnt use a paywall. I easily get the best macro and business news, and perspective, from MB so I don’t see why I shouldn’t contribute to it financially.
Good luck!
When will I receive the access login to TII ? I’ve sent the email to approve for roll-over since Monday, 21st January.
Just want to know the timeframe, if possible.
I sent the email on 23/1/13 and would also like to know the timeframe, please.
Has anyone heard from intelligent investor?
Macroinvestor’s email on Monday said that they would respond this week…