How a former hedge fund analyst built a six-figure newsletter covering Asia’s overlooked stocks

Michael Fritzell founded Asian Century Stocks in 2021 because he thought he had an information edge.

Before he ever hit “publish” on a newsletter, Michael Fritzell spent 15 years inside the global finance machine — working in investment banking, buy-side funds, and eventually managing money for a wealthy family in Singapore. A European native who studied Chinese at Peking University and later worked on the ground in Shanghai, he built a rare specialty: identifying overlooked equities across China and Southeast Asia long before most Western investors paid attention..

In 2021, he walked away from that career path and launched Asian Century Stocks, a paid newsletter focused on deeply researched reports about undercovered Asian companies. What began as a risky bet in an expensive city has since grown into a roughly $180,000–$190,000 annual recurring revenue business built almost entirely on subscriptions.

In an interview, he explained how he went from anonymous finance professional to six-figure recurring revenue newsletter operator, why he ultimately left Substack for Ghost, and what it takes to monetize serious financial research in a tightly regulated industry.

Let’s jump into it…

Building a Rare Skill Set on the Ground in Asia

Fritzell’s edge didn’t come from branding or media savvy — it came from geography and language.

After studying finance in the UK, he moved to China and immersed himself in Mandarin at Peking University. “During that year, I spent almost the full year speaking nothing but Chinese,” he recalled. “At the end of it, I started dreaming in Chinese.”