Why I Admire Wise – But Won’t Buy It (For Now)

In investing, saying no can be just as powerful as saying yes. Sometimes, I come across a company I genuinely admire — a company that’s building something real, with strong execution and a culture I respect. But admiration alone isn’t enough. I’m not investing to collect good stories. I’m investing to find asymmetric opportunities that could 10x within a few years and fit tightly into my personal thesis.

Wise is one of the best-run companies I’ve analyzed this year — and yet, I’m not buying the stock.

Let me explain why.

The Beauty of Wise

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is everything a fintech should be. It’s disciplined, focused, and genuinely customer-first. The company has built an elegant infrastructure layer for global money transfers — and it does so with clarity and transparency few financial players can match.

The culture at Wise is remarkable. The team operates with long-term vision, product obsession, and a stubborn commitment to efficiency. They’re not chasing hype or over-promising. They’re shipping real improvements that matter to real people — millions of them.

The result? Wise has turned what used to be a murky, fee-ridden process (international transfers) into something simple, fast, and honest. And they’ve done it profitably — a rare achievement in the fintech world.

So Why Not Invest?

As someone who’s building a high-conviction portfolio with concentrated bets, my bar is high. I’m not looking for average returns. I’m looking for businesses that can deliver 10x outcomes by solving essential human needs.

And that’s where Wise, for all its strengths, falls just short for me.

• Essential, but not inevitable: Yes, cross-border money movement is important. But it’s not in the same category as the foundational systems I’ve chosen to anchor my portfolio around.

• Limited asymmetry: Wise is already a known quantity. It’s profitable, yes, but its valuation reflects that. The market understands the business. There’s less room for surprise — less room for exponential re-rating.

• Competitive risk vs. monopoly potential: Wise has a moat, but not an unbreakable one. It’s fast, efficient, and trusted — but in a world of embedded finance, banks, neobanks, and tech giants may encroach on this space. That’s not a dealbreaker, but it does shift the risk-reward dynamic.

What I Learned from Studying Wise

Even though I didn’t invest, my time analyzing Wise wasn’t wasted. In fact, it sharpened my filter. Wise reminded me what great execution looks like. It showed me what it means to operate with focus and humility. And it reinforced that a great company isn’t always a great stock — not for my strategy.

I want to build a portfolio of category-defining businesses that address civilization’s base layer — the stuff we need whether the economy is booming or crashing. My goal remains: generate 10x returns in the medium term through high-conviction, high-quality bets that few are willing to make early.

Wise is great. But it’s not the one.

The Takeaway

As investors, we don’t just allocate capital — we define what we believe the future should look like. I want to invest in the companies building the scaffolding of that future. Wise is doing great work. I’ll keep watching, learning, and rooting for them from the sidelines.

But for now, my capital stays where the asymmetry is greater and the essential need is sharper.