We have interviewed Steve Markowitz, chairman and CEO of Vestopia.com,
a service that tracks the performance of investment directors in
real-time. Investors were previously unable to get this level of
access and transparency into the world of investment directors. Mr.
Markowitz is presenting at this week's Finovate Startup in San
Francisco.
FM: Who are the investment directors that are being tracked?
Steve Markowitz: We recruit investment directors based on their track record and
experience with the top firms. And now that they're independent, they
are trading their own portfolios and letting us track their every
move. We focus on the pros. Unlike other investment communities that
draw on the "wisdom of crowds," we are all about the "wisdom of the
pros." We feel this type of reliable, transparent information is vital
for empowering the self-directed investor to become a more confident
and active participant in the market.
FM: How does Vestopia.com track the performance of these investment directors?
SM: We install proprietary software on their trading stations that let us
track their trades in real-time. Details of their trades are
transmitted to us within 15 seconds. They can then be sent as email
alerts to subscribers. We're essentially auditing their trading
history and vouching for their performance.
FM: We see that Vestopia is still in beta. What are your immediate goals for Vestopia?
SM: In the short term, we're focused on building the Vestopia community as
a platform that promotes information exchange and social interaction
between investment directors and the individual investors. Over time,
we will establish credibility and trust. Then, we will be in position
to collaborate closely with the investment directors to introduce
financial products and services to individual investors.
FM: How has your experience as a financial journalist at Dow Jones shaped the way that you've positioned Vestopia?
SM: Back in the '90s, I was working for Dow Jones as a reporter covering
the Japanese stock market. I would spend a lot of time calling people
to get a read on market sentiment. After a while, I had a good sense
as to what was interesting to the investing audience. It's important
to know your audience. With Vestopia, we know our audience well. I
have also leveraged my membership marketing experience as CEO of
MyPoints, a company that eventually achieved a 15% penetration of the
Internet audience.
FM: We see video on your website. Do you see a future as a media publisher syndicating the videos to other financial portals?
SM: We're currently creating a lot of content that is being followed by
investors. The content is readily available for syndication to other
financial portals. In that sense, we're already a media publisher.
However, our goal isn't just to be a purveyor of financial
information. We hope to become a trusted partner for investment
directors creating brand awareness for them in the online investment
community and providing them with a full-range of financial advisory
services to help grow their businesses. So being a media publisher is
an important starting point and will always be a part of the overall
plan.
FM: Can financial journalists use Vestopia as a resource?
SM: Certainly. Financial journalists can sign up like regular investors.
They can log in and find experts across different investment fields,
read their commentaries to glean story ideas and get immediate feedback
about market sentiment. Our investment drectors are also available as
interview guests on broadcast outlets to discuss their strategies and
views on the market.
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