How does the Substack Service differ from the Institutional Service?

Comparing the entry level vs full service

I thought it would be worth a quick few words on how the Topdown Charts Substack service differs from the full service institutional offering.

The key point is that the Substack Service is basically an entry-level or “entrée“ version of the Full Service. It provides a means of accessing some of the same high quality insights, but at a more affordable price.

What is the full service?

The full service is basically aimed at helping multi-asset investors and portfolio managers who require top-down input to do their job (by providing ideas, risk management input, macro insights, asset allocation research, and charts to use).

Clients include endowment funds, pension companies, family offices, wealth advisors, investment consultants, and hedge funds. Basically people who manage large funds and who value an independent voice and additional flow of ideas - specifically designed for the context in which they run money.

What specifically is provided in the Full Service?

In contrast to the Substack service, the full service provides a lot more material and a much higher level of client engagement.

Reports and Materials:

• Weekly Macro Themes (flagship report)

• Global Cross Asset Market Monitor

• Monthly Market Cycle Guidebook

• Quarterly Strategy Pack

Service/Client Engagement:

• Help with questions/requests and chart updates

• Use of the charts (in their own reports/presentations)

• Quarterly outlook webinar

We also engage more closely with some clients e.g. with more specific/bespoke input, and attendance at investment committees. But that is a more select (higher paying) group, and capacity for that is limited.

Price: fees for the Full Service are individually negotiated depending on the client (i.e. size, type, users, special requirements), and ranges from a few thousand dollars per year for smaller clients, to tens of thousands for larger clients.

What is the Substack service?

The Substack offering is basically what I would call entry-level or really “entrée“ by contrast to the main service. It presents more of a high level summary - the core takeaways from our overall research efforts, commentary on sentiment & technicals, key issues on the radar, and a limited selection of charts.

In other words, it is a more bite-sized version of the Full Service.

You get the same high quality insights, a flow of ideas, and avoid missing important risks and themes. It’s easy to digest and integrate, and could make a real difference to your investment process.

What specifically is provided to Substack Subscribers?

Substack subscribers receive the follow benefits:

• The Weekly Insights Report

• The Monthly Asset Allocation Review

• Full Access to the Report Archives

• Ability to Post Questions and Comments

Also of note is “Power Users“ also get access to the Quarterly Strategy Pack and quarterly strategy outlook webinar. This option is for those who want a little bit more and also want to support the service at a higher level.

Price: $30 per month or $295 per year

Next Steps

The next step is to take a closer look at what we’re doing!

Substack Service: If you are interested trying out the Substack service (the entry-level version) be sure to hit the subscribe button above and choose the relevant option.

Full Service: If you are interested in inquiring about taking a trial of the Full Service, simply get in touch via the website (click that link). n.b. we are only accepting fund managers/institutional investor clients for the full service at this time.

Any questions simply reach out!

Kind regards,
Callum Thomas

Head of Research & Founder at Topdown Charts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Callum_Thomas
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/callum-thomas-4990063/