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Hey investors & entrepreneurs, here's the good stuff this week:

• Gains for leveraged ETF investors, but $$ left on the table.
• CRE on the up?
• Alt investments in 2025.
• Deep dive into SBA 7(a) acquisition loans.
• Pushing your luck.
• Protecting sensitive data.
• Is $1M still a lot of money?
• & loads more of the good stuff below.

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For the Investor

🤑 Leveraged ETF Investors Scored Gains Last Year. They Probably Also Left Billions on the Table - Leveraged ETF issuers raked in almost $1 billion in fees last year, but many of the investors probably left way more than that on the table.

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🤑 Is the Commercial Real Estate Tide Turning? Some rays of sunshine in the CRE arena? Multi-family housing, senior living, and industrial properties are picking up, while private credit firms are seeing more action in real estate financing.

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🤑 Don’t Push Your Luck (Physically or Financially) - Risk has a funny way of feeling manageable—until it isn’t. Whether it’s pushing your physical limits or chasing a little extra yield, see how to not let past success can trick you into thinking you’re in control.

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🤑 Alternative Investments in 2025: The top five themes to watch - a housing shortage boosting real estate, AI driving a massive energy crunch, and lower rates bringing private equity back to life. Plenty of opportunities ahead for those paying attention.

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🤑 Greg McKeown and an “Essentialist” Approach to Personal Finance - ​Why Do We Avoid the Things That Matter Most? When it comes to money, fear, perfectionism, and an overwhelming amount of information make it easy to procrastinate on what's most important: The basics.

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For the Entrepreneur

🤑 Protecting Sensitive Data: The Cornerstone Of Business Strategy In 2025 - Businesses that treat data security as a box-checking exercise are playing a dangerous game. Regulations are catching up, but breaches in 2024 showed that enforcement alone isn’t enough. Notes on building a competitive edge.

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🤑 Is $1 Million Still a Lot of Money? Thanks to inflation, you’d need at least $2 million today to match the purchasing power of a millionaire in 1996, but raw purchasing power isn’t the whole story—tech, healthcare, and overall quality of life have improved so much that a millionaire today might have it better than one from the past.

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🤑 What it Means to Play the Game - The biggest disadvantage in life is not knowing the hidden competitions.

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🤑 Exploring and Understanding the U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Program - a deep dive in SBA 7(a) loans, the secret weapon for self-funded searchers, offering long repayment terms, no financial covenants, and low equity requirements (but with a few catches).

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🤑 Survey: AI search is gaining traction, but it isn’t replacing Google: Younger Americans are the biggest adopters of AI search, but most people still prefer Google general use. Search engines still dominate, but the search landscape is getting more fragmented, from social to AI.

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The Private Credit Playbook ​ Private credit has quietly become one of the fastest-growing asset classes according to McKinsey & Co. And it’s not stopping, with the largest pension funds increasing allocations by over 50%. Why? Higher yields (often 10%+) and lower volatility than traditional income-generating assets.* Heron Finance’s free ebook breaks down: Private Credit Strategies: The pros and cons of different approaches. Finding the Right Fit: Which private credit assets align with your investing style? Portfolio Allocation: How much should you invest in private credit? No email required—just insights on how private credit can diversify your portfolio and generate passive income. ​ ​ Download the FREE ebook *sponsored by Heron

• ​Why a VO2 Max Test Reveals So Much About Overall Health and Longevity - VO2 max measures how well your body uses oxygen and is a strong predictor of longevity. Here's how to boost it.
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• ​Dear Mr. Vice President, Please Take Off Your Apple Watch​ - an wearable a tracking device with a microphone?
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• ​How Golden Visas And Second Passports Are Reshaping Wealth Strategies. HNWIs use golden visas and second passports to protect assets, cut taxes, and boost mobility.

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​Vercel’s Guillermo Rauch on What Comes After Coding - AI isn’t replacing developers—it’s making them more full stack. Instead of obsessing over lines of code, the focus is shifting to high-level problem-solving, product design, and understanding what makes great software actually useful. The future belongs to domain-specific AI agents, efficient infrastructure, and developers who think beyond the implementation details. Fascinating.

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​Apple | Spotify | Youtube​

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Vercel’s Guillermo Rauch on... Feb 5 · AI and I 56:15   ​

• ​Basedash: Want a beautiful tracking and KPI dashboard that you can talk to in plain English? Look here.

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• ​Invites: Apple's new party planning app. Make custom invitations, track RSVPs, and create a shared album so everyone can relive the chaos. It auto-adds maps, weather, and a collaborative playlist.

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❌ No hype ❌ No BS

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Members, here are some of the threads you may have missed…

• Rob looking for a traditional/lower cost financing option for use with US + EU owned E-commerce businesses.
• Wyatt asks what happens if SBA loans go away? The group chimes in with thoughts.
• Taylor give us a look at 3 year correlation between equities and bonds.​
• John asks are there more VCs that exist that do a bit more than deploy capital but find a clever way to help their startups?​
• Scott shares how he finally started writing case studies (thanks to AI).
• Tommy asking if anyone is in the GPU / Gaming PC world as he's trying to get his hands on a very hot GPU that Nvidia dropped last week, the RTX 5090.

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Had an awesome group chat with Della Kirkman - recording will be up shortly.

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Next up - a Fireside Chat on wealth building strategy with Sam Prentice Feb 18, see the event page for details. Sam has joined us twice previously and brings nothing but value.

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Check out The Vault, where you'll find any epic and value bomb post/thread immortalized.

In Snowball...

• Upcoming group calls:
  • Wine with Travis Feb 27
  • A monthly crypto chat (Feb 18).
  • A monthly Ai chat.
  • Monthly group M&A chat where members discuss deals and opportunities they're seeing.
• More excellent Fireside chats lined up - stay tuned.
• Members can access recordings of all our Fireside Chats anytime here.​
• You'll also find investing opportunities for members to take advantage of.

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Join Snowball.

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Disclaimer: Not financial, investing or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly for information, entertainment and education purposes. Nothing in here is investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your professional advisors. Do your own research. There will also be affiliate links in here from time to time because we like free money.

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*Further Disclosure from the sponsor: This is a paid advertisement. The opinions expressed in this advertisement are strictly those of Heron Finance. The information in this advertisement does not constitute an offer to sell securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Further, none of the information contained in this advertisement is a recommendation to invest in any securities. Please note there are no material conflicts of interest related to this advertisement. Returns are not a guarantee of future results. Please consider all risk factors before investing. Information sourced from McKinsey & Company (September 24, 2024) and Pensions&Investments (February 4, 2025). Chart Disclosure: Based on last 10-year annualized total returns as of December 31, 2024. Funds used to represent asset classes include: VanEck BDC Income ETF (BIZD), Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF (VNQ), iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG), Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN), and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). Past performance does not guarantee future results.