What Victaurs Stands For (Start Here)
Plus an index of all the pieces I've written in one place
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. So please allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Victaurs.
I built this community to give you the edge I wish I had earlier. Not just sharper thinking in markets, but deeper clarity in life. Because once you strip the noise away, markets are human. They run on confidence, structure, timing, and belief. They expose how people think. And if you’re paying attention, they show you how to grow your wealth.
I spent nearly two decades on the inside and I saw firsthand how capital moves when nobody’s looking. I watched countless CFA types miss big turns because they trusted headlines and research reports more than behavior. Eventually, I learned to stop predicting and start observing, to trust flows over noise, and to seek the root cause of what makes great companies and what causes real alpha.
Victaurs is where I try to teach that, not through hype or complexity, but through clarity. You should already know, I write in plain speak. I cut to the core. And I don’t pretend to know everything, but I own my risk and share what I’ve earned.
Three values guide everything here: integrity, discipline, and gratitude. I don’t say that for effect, I say it because if you don’t have those, none of this lasts.
If you’ve been here a while, you know what to expect. Deep research on banks, fintechs, crypto, payments, and the architecture of money. White collar bulge bracket institutional-level insights that read like real conversations. Macro analysis that explains why flows matter and what they’re whispering before the market shouts. And mindset pieces that go beyond finance, because the real alpha is growing yourself.
Behind the paywall, it goes deeper. Full reports, positioning, and the kind of context that helps pros stay early and stay right. And maybe more important than that, a signal you can trust in a sea of copy-paste AI noise.
If you’re trying to win in the markets and grow in the process, you’re in the right place.
Welcome to Victaurs, the best is ahead.
PS - before you go, treat this as an index of what has been built so far. Almost every major company I have written about is below. Search it, explore, learn. If you are a paid reader and it is not here yet, send me a note and I will give it a go. If you’re a paid member I work for you.
Foundational Valuation:
How To Value A Bank: A No-Nonsense Guide
Ever wondered how to figure out what a bank is really worth? And not in the textbook (technically true, but practically useless) case?
The Most Misunderstood Metric In Finance - The P/E Multiple
If I had a dollar for every time someone threw around a P/E multiple like it was the gospel truth, I’d have another island in the Carribean (okay … I’d have my first one). The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is everywhere—flashed on CNBC, jammed into analyst reports, and worshipped by retail investors who think they just found the next ten-bagger because …
Best Calls:
Everyone’s Talking About Circle. Almost No One Understands How It Actually Works.
There are a lot of furus out there.
The Bank Portfolio I’d Build Right Now if I Wanted to Beat the Market
Hey friends. Happy Saturday and great morning.
How to Profit from Italian Government Inefficiency: A Cheap Sleeper Bank With Lots of Upside
Back in my European Bank Momo Report, I laid out the case that Euro banks had finally broken out. Cheap. Hated. But inflecting. I highlighted the improving fundamentals, rising rate sensitivity, and emerging earnings power across the continent. Big big winners for everyone.
They Were the Villain of Dumb Money. I Hated Them Too. Until I Saw the Numbers.
Cut to Robinhood HQ. Panic in the air. The market’s on fire. GameStop is ripping like it’s 1999 and everyone’s long call options with max leverage. Retail is winning. Hedge funds are bleeding.
The Math on Rocket: $5.8B Revenues, $40B Cap, and a $1.2T Rate Unlock
This one won’t be long, but wanted to get it out given the “buzz” about a name I know fairly well, Rocket Companies (RKT).
Mindset Excellence:
What Every Top 1% Investor (and athlete) Knows But Doesn’t Say Out Loud
Tom Brady calls it a favorite book. Not because it’s trendy. Not because it’s cool. But because it helped him mold his mind into what it is today. And it has worked wonders for me too. I’d advise you all to read at some point.
The Leadership Secret No One Talks About
There’s a secret I wish someone had told me earlier. It isn’t written on motivational posters or plastered across LinkedIn. And yet, every great leader I’ve worked with who built something that truly lasted, knew it. And not only knew it, lived it.
On Emotional Strength
Imagine this: You’re clinging to a steep rock face, the icy wind howling around you, your fingers numb and your breath coming in ragged gasps. Just below, an abyss stares at you. Cold. Dark. Deep. You’re trapped on a steep cliffside, miles from safety. You have no way to contact anyone. The sky darkens as a fierce storm is rolling in, bringing with it b…
Appendix:
Company Specific Write-Ups:
Jefferies: Why A “Run” On Jeffries Isn’t Exactly Possible And It’s Not The Next Lehman
DLocal: How Netflix Gets Paid In Lagos, Sao Paulo, & Jakarta
Wise: Can Wise Outrun Stablecoins in the $32T Cross-Border Market?
StoneCo: StoneCo: 14x Earnings for 20% EPS Growth?
Popular: I’m Popular Now: How a Boring Bank Beat the Market, A Great Set Up in The Caribbean Sunshine
Klarna: Straight Outta Sweden: Klarna’s $45B Hype, Its $7B Bottom, and the $14B IPO Test For Investors Today
Affirm: So Apparently Affirm Wasn’t Dead After All
Flagstar: Flagstar: A Dumpster Fire Or Discarded Gem?
Nubank: Margins, Growth, and Monetization: NU’s Next Leg - Flows Are Turning Green In Brazil and Things Are Quietly Shifting for NU & STNE - Nubank: A Post Earnings Crash & What Everyone Is Missing - Something NU
Upstart: Originate to Sell: The Fragile Foundation of Upstart’s Revenue Surge
Circle: A Circle Update & How JPM, PayPal, and PNC Are Hijacking Crypto’s Best Idea - Everyone’s Talking About Circle. Almost No One Understands How It Actually Works
Rocket: The Math on Rocket: $5.8B Revenues, $40B Cap, and a $1.2T Rate Unlock - Rocket Mortgage’s $1.75B Redfin Deal: Genius Long-Term Play or Overpriced Gamble? - Rocketship Down ... - Who Would’ve Thought COOP > RKT In a Rates Sell Off?
SoFi: The Fair-Value Flywheel: SoFi’s Greatest Strength and Its Darkest Shadow - What’s SoFi Worth?
PayPal: The Most Hated Compounder in the Payments Space
Citibank: Citibank: Back Then Didn’t Want Me, Now I’m Hot, They All On Me - The New Citibank: A Look Back on 2024 & 2025 Outlook - Citibank: From Outhouse to Penthouse - UPDATE: Citibank Q3 Thoughts
Chime: The $11.6 Billion FinTech Tollbooth
Newtek: Not as Cheap as You Think: The Real Story Behind NEWT
BFF Bank: How to Profit from Italian Government Inefficiency: A Cheap Sleeper Bank With Lots of Upside
Apollo & Alt Managers: Private Market Players Are Quietly Winning & Everyone Thinks They’ll Blow Up, Which Is Why I’m Interested
Investment Banks: Investment Banks Beneath the Surface: Capturing the Winners and Fading the Fakes - Riding the Investment Bank Rollercoaster: How to Spot Winners, Dodge Losers, and Profit from the Madness
Robinhood: They Were the Villain of Dumb Money. I Hated Them Too. Until I Saw the Numbers.
StoneCo: So You Missed Nubank at $5?
NatWest: UK Banks: It’s Not Exactly Difficult
Four: This Payments Biz Runs Sports Stadiums, Luxury Hotels, and Restaurants - And It’s Growing Like Crazy
Wintrust: A Bank Long with Midwestern Values & A Trusted Track Record
Western Alliance: Growth Is Good
Hingham Insitution for Savings: Growth Is Good What’s A Cult-ish Bank Stock Worth?
European Banks: European Bank Momo Report: Yes They’re On Fire, Are they Blanket Buys? - Things Done Changed: European Bank Picks in 2025 - State of European Union Banks - The Scatter
US Banks: Blood in the U.S. Banks: Sifting Through the Damage for Bank Shorts & Longs - The Top 100 U.S. Banks: Sifting Through the Carnage - $180 Billion Catalyst for the Biggest Banks & Who Benefits the Most - Top 26 Banks Updated P/TBV & Forward ROTCE Scatter - The 2024 U.S. Bank Stock Power Rankings: Who’s Leading in Growth and Who’s Falling Behind? - The Golden Age for Banks & 3 Bullish Tailwinds + A Time Capsule - The Top 50 Growth Banks in the US, The Top 50 TBVPS Growers, Some Over/Under Valued Names, and Future Bank Alpha - Top 40 Cheapest Banks - A Contrarian’s Dream
Market Macro & Vibes Pieces:
The Bank Doomers Are Back - My Crystal Ball Says They’re Going to Be Wrong ... Again.
The Quiet Deposit Bill That Could Reshape Banking, Kill Stablecoins, and Boost Regional Banks
Western Alliance, Jefferies, UBS and the First Brands Debacle - Why It Isn’t a Credit Crisis (Yet) ...
Powell Spoke, A Bunch of People Misread an AI Headline, and Banks Exploded
The Smart Money’s Bank Playbook For The Next 18 Months
9 Things The Stablecoin People Are Getting Wrong
When Banks Beat, Crypto Heats, and Tariffs Hit.
Mean Girls, Monetary Policy, And Mortgage Rates
The Bank Charter Wars: How Circle, Erebor, and the Fed Are Rewriting Money Moves
Cheap Ain’t Enough Anymore ... My Thoughts on US Banks Vs. European Banks
$550 Billion in Losses, No Bailouts, All Clear: The Banks Just Passed Their Trial by Fire
Stablecoins: The Dollar Shouldn’t Sleep
The Bank Portfolio I’d Build Right Now if I Wanted to Beat the Market
The Rhythm of Repricing
Mortgage Rate: The Market Tug-of-War Nobody Talks About
The Hidden Debt Bomb Behind the Tariff War. And Why It Matters to You
Surfing The Market Volatility: 10 Signals Worth Paying Attention To
The Illusion of Certainty: RPOs, Oracle, and the Dot-Com Ghosts
A Moment of Clarity In a World of Hype
My Banking Crystal Ball is Trying to Tell Me What’s Going to Happen (Again)
U.S. Bank M&A Exposed: What Investment Banking Really Looks Like Behind the Scenes
3 Banking Truths from JPMorgan & Jamie Dimon 5 Bank Trends (#3 and #4) - The Diluters
Bank Capital Allocation: Explaining Buybacks
Mindset Excellence:
The Leadership Secret No One Talks About
The Edge Within: A Principle To Unlock Your Potential
The Edge Within: The Keys of the Survivor Personality
The Shokunin Code
What Two 400 Year Old Books Can Teach You About Dominating The Modern Day World
Chaos Is Winning: How the Best Investors Prepare for What They Cannot See
What Every Top 1% Investor (and athlete) Knows But Doesn’t Say Out Loud
The Most Powerful Thing You Can Do While Suffering (And It’s Not What You Think)
The War Being Waged on Your Future Self
On Gratitude ...
On a Growth Mindset
On Emotional Strength
On Avoiding Hubris