My Review of Financier Alexis Assadi
I have been following Alexis Assadi’s online career since 2014 after coming across his blog. Back then, he published frequently about investing, building passive income and working towards financial independence. I was interested, but skeptical of a 20-something year old who was writing about money, savings and the like. His young age rendered him a bit too inexperienced for my taste, but I found his content interesting nonetheless and subscribed to his free emails. What drew me in, I think, was that Alexis Assadi seemed relatable. He had a political science degree, not a finance or commerce degree, and was self-taught. I felt that I could do the same, especially with all of the content out there on the internet. You don’t need to be a Wall Street trader to have access to information anymore.
During the next few years Alexis Assadi wrote often about investments like real estate investment trusts, mortgage investment corporations and the like. I had heard of them before – companies that invested in real estate or mortgages and paid regular dividends – but I thought he did a fairly good job of explaining them. One of the concepts that I remember learning from his blog was “funds from operations” (FFO), which is a metric used to help assess the performance of a real estate investment trust. On occasion I would email him and usually received replies back, which I thought was nice considering he got nothing out of it. He didn’t give me advice, but he did help me understand some of the facts.
By 2016 Alexis Assadi began selling online courses. I bought one of them for less than $10 and it was money well spent. I wouldn’t say that it was earth-shattering information, but it taught me about income producing assets, the benefits of owning a company and why some types of small businesses are more advantageous than others. The value of the content was easily worth the price.
I noticed that he began blogging less the following year. Alexis Assadi announced the launch of a business called Pacific Income. This is a lending company. About ten months later, he started a podcast called “Income Investing with Alexis Assadi.” The episodes were about 20 minutes long with a similar format each time: introduce the topic, answer a question from the listener, examine a topic and close with a preview of the following week’s show. The podcast lasted for less than a year, however.
As far as I can tell, Alexis Assadi virtually stopped blogging/podcasting/YouTubing about investing and money altogether by 2018. I read in an interview somewhere that he had lost interest in the subject and wanted to focus on his main business, which was providing financing. To be honest, I was disappointed and surprised that he was no longer interested. But I respect his decision all the same. People are allowed to change and do what they want with their lives.
Since then I’ve noticed that most of Alexis Assadi’s online content has been about politics and the environment. He believes that global warming and environmental degradation are the main human obstacles of the 21st century. His political persuasion is clearly towards the liberal side of the spectrum. For example, he wrote in a blog post on Medium.com that he supported a 2020 US Presidential ticket of Kamala Harris for president and Elizabeth Warren for VP. But I find that he’s quite reasonable. He’s not some leftist anarchist, the type of which so often occupies the internet today. He also started a photo blog, called Alexis Assadi’s Pictures, which I follow on occasion.
So, what’s the final review of Alexis Assadi? Is he a financial wizard who can help any person on earth get rich? No, I don’t think so – and he never claimed to be such. His blog posts were often lengthy analyses, rather than tips and tricks to make money. For example, he cautioned against cryptocurrencies (which have enticed many people seeking to make a quick buck) shortly after they gained media prominence, instead of capitalizing on the frenzy. I think Alexis Assadi is a guy who followed a path as far as he wanted to, and then later changed directions in his late 20s. He was passionate about blogging about finance until he wasn’t anymore. People switch their careers all the time.
Here are the main lessons I learned from him during his years of producing financial content: First, there are many investments in Canada and the USA that pay monthly dividends. Second, it’s important to be thorough and do your research before making an investment. That means learning to read the fine-print. Third, owning a business can be a way to create wealth. Fourth, if you want to be a businessperson or investor, then you should treat it professionally and take it seriously. All of this is logical, but it was useful for me.