

Unbundled Advice: A Mailbag Episode
33 snips Mar 21, 2025
Curious about the cocoa trade? Discover how the quality of cocoa beans impacts market prices and trading. Learn about the mechanics of private credit ETFs and what determines loan selection. Delve into the chaotic world of stock trading influenced by figures like Elon Musk and the meme stock phenomenon. Finally, uncover the nuances of financial advice, including ways to cut advisor fees and the dark side of investment scandals reminiscent of Madoff.
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Cocoa Quality and Price
- Different cocoa qualities explain price variations across exchanges, like London and New York.
- London futures having more lower-quality beans from Cameroon illustrates this point.
Chocolate Futures Mystery
- Patrick became fascinated by chocolate futures contracts after listening to a previous podcast episode.
- He questions why the quality of chocolate in warehouses is often poor despite contracts specifying quality.
Nickel Bag of Rocks
- A bag of rocks was found in a nickel warehouse owned by JP Morgan, highlighting the disconnect between physical commodities and futures trading.
- This was acceptable until discovered, as the nickel mainly served as a substrate for trading.