House Style Reference

The components and conventions every Holbrook Report piece is built from.

[Optional. An introduction in Aaron's own words goes here — written by him, never generated. Delete this block when there is no introduction.] — Aaron Holbrook

This page documents the components a piece is assembled from and the conventions that govern them. It renders every element so the styling can be checked in one place, and it is itself written in the house voice: impersonal, declarative, about the subject rather than the author.

Voice, in one line

A piece explains a mechanism. It does not narrate a personal journey, manufacture opinions, or address the reader as a friend. Judgments are permitted but are labeled as such (see evidence labels).

Evidence labels

Claims carry an inline label so a reader can see, sentence by sentence, what kind of statement each one is:

[FACT] — a sourced data point: a number, date, statute, or quotation that traces to a citation. If it cannot be cited, it is not stated.
[CHARACTERIZATION] — a descriptive label placed on the facts. Defensible, but flagged as framing rather than raw data.
[PROJECTION] — a forward-looking, conditional “if X then Y” statement. Never a prediction; always labeled so it is not read as one.

In the body the tags are interactive. A [FACT] links down to the Sources section. A [CHARACTERIZATION] or [PROJECTION] reveals, on hover or keyboard focus, the reasoning for that specific point — which the author writes inside the tag itself, after a colon:

The first-day open is the worst retail entry [CHARACTERIZATION], and if a deal is hot the same pattern should recur [PROJECTION].

Hover the two tags above to see each one explain itself.

Defined terms

The first use of a term a reader may not know is wrapped so its plain-language meaning surfaces on tap or hover. For example, a company files an S-1 before going public. The dotted underline is the cue.

Callouts

A callout isolates a single practical takeaway from the surrounding explanation.

What this really means in practice: A callout is for the one sentence a reader should leave with — the translation of the mechanism into a concrete consequence. Use it sparingly.

Key/value blocks

For compact, scannable pairs — definitions, parameters, a summary of inputs.

Offer price

The fixed price at which allocated shares are sold the night before trading.

Opening price

The first price at which the stock trades publicly, set by supply and demand.

Underpricing

Setting the offer price below the expected open, which creates the first-day "pop."

Findings

A finding pairs a titled claim with a severity or confidence pill, for pieces that assess rather than only explain.

1 A point that warrants attention

High

The body of a finding states the claim plainly and supports it. A finding may contain its own callout or a short preformatted block.

Input              Value
-----              -----
Worked example     preserved column alignment

2 A point of moderate weight

Medium

Pills come in four weights: High Medium Low No action. They double as confidence markers.

Tables

For comparisons across more than two dimensions.

Mechanism	Who it favors	When it applies
Traditional IPO (bookbuilding)	Allocation holders	Most offerings
Direct listing	Existing holders	No new capital raised
Modified Dutch auction	The broad market	Rare; compresses the pop

Blockquotes and sources

A blockquote sets apart a quotation or a contained example without the warm framing of a callout.

Every piece ends with a Sources section of real, clickable links, so the receipts travel with the writing.

Sources

SEC — Accredited Investors — example of a primary regulatory source

Built for machines too: read this report as Markdown · llms.txt