Alternative Investing Report - March 4, 2025

*as of 3/3; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

The public markets had their worst day of 2025 as investors braced for President Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico to take effect today. The S&P 500 fell by 1.8%, the Dow declined by 1.5% and the Nasdaq had the steepest drop at 2.6%, largely because of Nvidia’s 9% decline. Crypto gave back nearly all of its gains from the day before, when Trump announced plans for a strategic crypto reserve, with Bitcoin falling more than 9%. The other four coins involved in the reserve - Ethereum, Solana, Ripple and Cardano - all took double digit losses, with most dropping to where they were before the announcement.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Buckle up, because the markets are likely to be chaotic in the short-term as the effects of the tariffs, and the resulting retaliation from Canada, Mexico, and China, start to be digested. Investors are moving into a risk-off posture, and crypto is facing headwinds both from the macro circumstances and from criticism surrounding the potential national reserve.

One asset class that has profited from the economic uncertainty of 2025 has been gold, which rose in price yesterday to just under $2,900/oz and has been outperforming crypto all year. The price of gold is up more than 40% since the start of 2024 and Goldman Sachs recently revised its price outlook upwards again, forecasting an 8% gain to $3,100/oz by the end of this year.

➨ TAKEAWAY: While Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold,” it appears that investors still trust the real thing more. Gold has historically been a safe haven for investors during times of high inflation and high volatility, so it would not be a surprise to see investor demand continue to rise in the short-term.

Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra co-founder Jan-Erik Asplund did a deep dive into Glean, the multi-billion dollar AI startup helping to companies get the most out of their enterprise data. They looked at Glean’s growth trajectory, the competitive landscape and a possible IPO timeline.

📉 Consumer spending declines: For the first time in nearly two years, U.S. consumer spending fell, dropping by 0.2% following a 0.8% gain in December. This drop goes hand in hand with declining consumer confidence and early readings suggesting a significant slowdown in GDP growth.

🚀 Ramp nearly doubles valuation: The heralded fintech startup completed a $150 million secondary sale at a valuation of $13 billion, strong expansion over last April’s $7.65 billion valuation.

🏡 Lumber tariff concerns: Canada, the largest supplier of lumber to the U.S., is getting hit with tariffs, but homebuilding could get even more expensive if additional tariffs are placed on all lumber imports, which the Trump administration is considering.

🎨 Old Masters collection coming to auction: A lot with approximately 60 paintings estimated to sell for $100 million - the most valuable single owner collection of Old Masters artworks to ever be auctioned - are coming to Sotheby’s in May.

🤔 The Cheetozard sells: A Flamin’ Hot Cheeto shaped like the popular Pokemon character Charizard - dubbed the “Cheetozard” - sold for $87,840 at Goldin auctions, proving that anything can be a collectible.

💵 Hamilton Lane launches secondary fund: The alternative investment manager is launching an evergreen secondaries fund to give high net-worth investors access to private equity secondary deals.

This tiny house located in Newport, RI, is built from steel frames and an industrial-grade mirrored-glass exterior, creating an optical illusion that allows the house to blend in with its surroundings. The one bedroom, one bathroom house has 453 square feet of living space, comes fully furnished, and includes credit to build your own art collection. The asking price is $359,000, but that is for the house only - land not included.