CFOVILLE

Alexander Davis

Alexander Davis recently completed a six-month dry run as the finance chief of Pie Insurance, where he was already working as deputy CFO. It’s safe to say the trial went well, as Davis took the reins as full-time CFO in July.

Davis, who joined Pie as deputy CFO in June 2024, told CFO Brew that the interim period helped him better prepare for the permanent job.

It’s common at Pie “for internally promoted executives to serve on an interim basis,” he said, and it helped him gear up for the “external-facing relationship management aspect to the CFO role.” Davis discussed his game plan for building relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and the other opportunities and projects he’ll be focusing on in the next 12 months, including changes to the company’s forecasting plans.

What did you see as the benefit of first serving on an interim basis?

It’s a test-and-learn [period]. The role of the deputy CFO and the role of the CFO are different. There is much more of an external-facing relationship management aspect to the CFO role that I did not have when I was a deputy CFO. I had plenty of board exposure, but I wasn’t the point of contact for all CFO organization matters, and I think our board wanted to see that I was an adequate candidate. They’re very willing to follow the lead of our CEO, who also wanted to see that I was an adequate candidate.

The differences once you ascend from interim to the permanent spot.—AZ

      

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EMERGING RISKS

Morning Brew

Good news: This isn’t another story about AI. Bad news: It’s about cryptocurrency, and the moon we were all told we’d go to is hiding behind a cloud.

From exchanges to trading, all the way to NFTs and gaming, several cryptocurrency companies over the last year have shuttered operations, according to RootData, a crypto asset tracking platform. Among the companies most impacted are the centralized exchanges—the intermediary digital marketplaces where users can buy, sell, and trade traditional and digital assets.

Just in the past 10 days or so, both BitMart and BitMEX announced they were shutting their operations. BitMEX announced on July 23 that after an 11-year operating history it would cease all operations on September 23. “At its peak in 2018–2019, the exchange commanded over 50% of the entire cryptocurrency derivatives market,” Crypto Briefing reported.

Crypto exchange BitMart, which had its own token, said on July 26 that it would be winding down its trading platform “after a careful evaluation of the company’s operating conditions, market environment, and future strategic direction.” The platform will shut down in January 2027, but all trading services will stop on August 26.

Jason Fernandes, co-founder of web3 investment platform AdLunam, told CoinDesk recently that “there isn’t enough volume or retail trading anymore” for these crypto exchanges.

Financial institutions’ inroads into crypto are pushing out some early players.—DL

      

WALL STREET

Morning Brew Inc, Photo: Getty Images

Situational Awareness found itself in quite the situation last week when the hedge fund imploded. Yesterday, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the near collapse of the fund should serve as a wake-up call for markets awash in leverage. The comments suggest Wall Street’s biggest lenders are beginning to take a harder look at how much risk they’re willing to finance.

The risk reset. Situational Awareness may have grabbed headlines, but it wasn’t the only hedge fund that got caught in the recent tech stock selloff.

According to analytics firm PivotalPath, technology-, media- and telecommunications-focused equity hedge funds posted an “unprecedented” 10% loss in July, while multistrategy funds fell 2.3%—their fourth-worst month on record. Those figures don’t even include Situational Awareness’s 67% plunge, suggesting plenty of other funds quietly endured the same tech unwind.

The AI rally reversed its course last month as concerns over massive AI spending, coupled with a surprise Citadel note predicting a Fed rate hike, sent tech stocks tumbling. In fact, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 21% in July, marking its worst month since 2008.

As a result, hedge funds have begun to dial back leverage and trim volatile tech bets. That could leave another group of investors to take the reins of the AI trade—and create even more volatility.

Will the near-collapse weaken hedge funds’ appetite for tech? Brew Markets reports.—SY

      

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market forces

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top finance reads.

Stat. 23,000. That’s how many jobs the US economy lost in July, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is far from the 95,000 jobs employers were expected to add last month. (CNN)

Quote. “I would never knowingly allow any invasion of guest privacy other than with the eyes we were born with.”—Jeremy King, celebrity restaurateur, on prohibiting guests from wearing Meta smart glasses (the Guardian)

Read. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had a plan to sell stakes in the commercial rights to the World Cup to private equity, drawing calls for his resignation. Then he pulled off a “stunning reversal.” (the Wall Street Journal)

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