Malcolm Shaw is a geologist turned institutional analyst who has spent twenty-five years navigating the resource markets from every angle. He runs his own money and no one else’s. His way of thinking wasn't learned in a classroom; it was paid for with the kind of tuition the market charges to teach its most expensive lessons.
The journey began in the oil patch at the turn of the millennium. In an industry paper, a small company called First Calgary Petroleum reported a gas find in Algeria. The stock was at $1.35. Not knowing if the well was significant, Malcolm asked a senior geologist down the hall about it and got little more than a shoulder shrug.
The stock later ran to over $20.
The lesson was seared in: A unique technical insight – and the conviction to act on it when others can't see it – is the ultimate edge. He knew that if he could figure out how to value what he was looking at, he would have a chance.
Around the same time, the tech bubble burst, and an advisor lost half of Malcolm's capital. It wasn't about the money; it was the realization that a “professional” couldn’t protect it. The wake-up call was clear: if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself. He learned that true accountability only comes when you own every outcome, win or lose.
That accountability drove him to learn.
That drive led him from Calgary's oil patch to a boutique sell-side shop in Toronto in 2006. There, he spent his days meeting management teams, building financial models, and pitching ideas to the country’s sharpest fund managers.The buy-side came calling, and a hedge fund brought his expertise in-house, expanding his scope from energy to the entire resource sector. In 2012, Malcolm went independent.
Today, that hunt for value continues. The landscape has shifted from rock formations to market data, but the discipline is the same: combing for overlooked companies and early-stage opportunities before the crowd takes notice.The Circle is the culmination of that twenty-five-year journey. It’s a place to share the perspective of someone who has seen the full spectrum of the investing experience — from the oil patch to the boardrooms of Bay Street. Malcolm isn't paid by anyone, he doesn’t take compensation for writing about any company, and he cannot be bought.The hunt for value is what drives him. The Circle is a way to shine a light on that work for others looking to develop their own judgment.
"It's been awesome being in Malcolm's inner circle — I've learned so much about both mining and energy plays over the years. He helped me navigate the rollercoaster through COVID when everything felt uncertain. Having access to his ideas has been a total game-changer."
Today, that hunt for value continues. The landscape has shifted from rock formations to market data, but the discipline is the same: combing for overlooked companies and early-stage opportunities before the crowd takes notice.The Circle is the culmination of that twenty-five-year journey. It’s a place to share the perspective of someone who has seen the full spectrum of the investing experience – from the oil patch to the boardrooms of Bay Street. Malcolm isn't paid by anyone, he doesn’t take compensation for writing about any company, and he cannot be bought.The hunt for value is what drives him. The Circle is a way to shine a light on that work for others looking to develop their own judgment.
My journey with Malcolm didn't start at an investor conference or on a message board. It started in 2014, from behind a lawn aerator. He wasn't some guru, just a client who paid on time and questioned why a decorative pillow couldn't also be used for sleeping. He never once brought up securities – just a quiet, salt-of-the-earth guy.
It took me until 2017 to connect the dots and find his investment blog. By then, I already knew he wasn't doing it for clout or money. The writing, the transparency, the patience – it read like second-nature altruism. It was candid confidence, earned the old-fashioned way. I decided to bet on the man behind the words.
When I opened my first trading account, I had absolutely no market experience; I had to look up the definitions of "bid" and "ask." Yet, following Malcolm's ideas, I rode a wave from five figures to a small fortune of nearly a million dollars. And then I rode that same wave straight into a brick wall.
I went all-in on a single story and and lost everything, and then some, courtesy of our good friend, leverage. Let's call it the "tuition phase," a period of profound discomfort.
I mistook borrowed conviction for real market understanding – a potent cocktail of inexperience and good old-fashioned hubris.
The hardest part? Malcolm had tried to warn me. Before the stock plunged, he suggested I lighten up and even featured my situation (not so subtly) in a blog post about the double-edged sword of concentration.
The article was a rational lesson on survival, a breakdown of investing's cardinal rule: Don't Lose Money. The priority is always staying in the game.
I didn't listen.
The tide turned on a grey, properly Vancouvery day in the spring of 2020. Malcolm called with a tour-de-force analysis of the oil market and what COVID meant for the energy complex. His thesis, distilled to its essence, was simple: people still have to turn on the lights. That lesson got me back in the game. I didn't get even overnight. I just kept grinding, kept reading, and kept trying to be a little better than I was the day before.
Today, I have a portfolio well into the seven figures. My success wasn't born in a single moment of genius; it's scar tissue, earned in an eight-year grind back from the abyss. Eight years was the price of learning real patience – and a mentor who taught me to see the entire board, not just the pieces.
To the new subscribers here: You're getting the one thing I could have only dreamed of back then – a real-time education in how to think, how to size your bets, how to survive, and, when the wind is at your back, how to press your advantage.
- Robert (Bobby) Bloom,
Managing Partner and The Circle’s First Success Story
This is more than analysis; it's the culmination of a decade of work. For the first time, Malcolm is opening his personal playbook to give insight into the philosophy that has guided his own wealth.
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