Founder and Strategist, Entext Economics & Strategy

Sean Maher

Founder and Strategist

Entext Economics & Strategy

Entext provides institutional investors with distinctive, actionable asset allocation and thematic research, which typically challenges the market consensus. Our clients range from credit, equity and multi-asset hedge and pension funds to family offices and sovereign funds. 
 
We focus on identifying key inflection points in macro data and relative asset performance amid the 'groupthink'  and confirmation bias that characterizes most investment bank analysis.

Macro Driven Investment Insight

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Japan Software and services / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

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<blockquote>
 ‘It’s necessary for developers to learn to get along with [subscription services] ...When seeking a partner for this, it’s important to find someone who understands the value of your software. Then customers will feel the value in your apps and software and develop a habit of paying money for them. I can’t say that our fixed-cost model has really been a success. But we’re going to continue pushing it forward until it becomes entrenched. By focusing on bringing games to the widest range of people possible, we can continue boosting our mobile game business...’ 
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Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s legendary ‘Super Mario’ game designer, speaking recently
<blockquote>
’Having been a long-term bull over several years (particularly on Tencent), I turned tactically bearish on Asian tech late last year, and the US traded China internet stock index has fallen to a new YTD low…Tencent is down 25% from its peak in January ahead of quarterly earnings likely to show slowing growth in gaming. Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), in which players have to survive on a virtual island has been cannibalising other legacy titles on both time and money spend (like Fortnite globally). Total game revenues will probably rise just 2-3% y/y in Q2...’  
</blockquote>
Weekly Insight, August 2nd 2018
<blockquote>
‘The Overwatch League’s inaugural season this year featured 12 teams, and the finals in July attracted sold-out crowds of more than 20,000 spectators to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, while matches were broadcast on ESPN. Since then, Blizzard has announced expansion franchises in Atlanta, Washington, Paris, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hangzhou. The league hopes to ultimately add eight more. By building local franchises for Overwatch, Blizzard offered a structure that could appeal to professional sports executives able to provide valuable cachet.’ 
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/business/overwatch-league-blizzard-cities.html" target="_blank">NYT article this week on surging US interest in esports</a>
 
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 ‘It’s necessary for developers to learn to get along with [subscription services] ...When seeking a partner for this, it’s important to find someone who understands the value of your software. Then customers will feel the value in your apps and software and develop a habit of paying money for them. I can’t say that our fixed-cost model has really been a success. But we’re going to continue pushing it forward until it becomes entrenched. By focusing on bringing games to the widest range of people possible, we can continue boosting our mobile game business...’ 

Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s legendary ‘Super Mario’ game designer, speaking recently

’Having been a long-term bull over several years (particularly on Tencent), I turned tactically bearish on Asian tech late last year, and the US traded China internet stock index has fallen to a new YTD low…Tencent is down 25% from its peak in January ahead of quarterly earnings likely to show slowing growth in gaming. Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), in which players have to survive on a virtual island has been cannibalising other legacy titles on both time and money spend (like Fortnite globally). Total game revenues will probably rise just 2-3% y/y in Q2...’  

Weekly Insight, August 2nd 2018

‘The Overwatch League’s inaugural season this year featured 12 teams, and the finals in July attracted sold-out crowds of more than 20,000 spectators to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, while matches were broadcast on ESPN. Since then, Blizzard has announced expansion franchises in Atlanta, Washington, Paris, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hangzhou. The league hopes to ultimately add eight more. By building local franchises for Overwatch, Blizzard offered a structure that could appeal to professional sports executives able to provide valuable cachet.’ 

NYT article this week on surging US interest in esports
 


Take Two Interactive Software, Inc (TTWO US)

Social Gaming and Esports Upside for Tencent…