Francis Shu
Francis Shu is a market practitioner and independent researcher focused on global macro markets, financial infrastructure, and proprietary capital allocation.
His work spans currencies, rates, equities, commodities, monetary systems, payments, and market structure.
He founded FrancisNotes to connect independent research with continuous market observation, capital allocation, and disciplined decision-making.
About
Overview
FrancisNotes is an independent research platform grounded in market practice and proprietary capital allocation.
It examines how macroeconomic conditions, policy, market structure, and financial infrastructure influence prices, capital flows, risk, and financial decisions.
The platform is built around continuity: observing change over time, reassessing assumptions as conditions evolve, and maintaining a documented connection between research, judgment, and action.
Research
Research at FrancisNotes centers on global macro markets and financial infrastructure.
Macro research covers currencies, rates, equities, commodities, monetary policy, capital flows, and the transmission of economic and policy developments through financial markets.
Financial infrastructure research examines monetary systems, payments, stablecoins, tokenization, market structure, settlement, and the mechanisms through which financial claims are issued and transferred, and transactions and obligations are settled.
Practice
Research is developed alongside ongoing market participation and proprietary capital allocation.
This creates a continuous process of observation, thesis formation, decision-making, execution, risk management, and review. Market practice provides a real-world setting in which assumptions can be tested, changing conditions reassessed, and decisions evaluated over time.
Research does not automatically lead to a position. Capital is committed only when the expected opportunity is judged to justify the risks involved.
Approach
FrancisNotes distinguishes among observation, interpretation, scenarios, and judgment.
Analysis is grounded in available evidence, explicit assumptions, and a recognition of uncertainty. Views are conditional and are revised when the underlying evidence or market environment changes.
Research and market decisions are documented with clear time references so that the evolution of conditions, assumptions, judgments, and outcomes can be traced over time.
Development
FrancisNotes is being built with the aim of developing a more structured research and proprietary investment practice over time.
Its research, publishing, and proprietary capital activities are intended to become progressively more systematic, supported by accumulated research, decision records, market experience, and a disciplined, documented, and repeatable investment process.
The long-term objective is to build an independent research and proprietary investment operation while preserving intellectual independence, disciplined judgment, and a clear connection between research, decisions, and outcomes.