Interview with Steve Markowitz, Vestopia.com

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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