Scottrade has officially
launched Scottrade Online Community, a new social networking site aimed at its online traders. Originally released in April to beta testers, the site lets Scottrade customers interact with each other by sharing ideas, strategies and tools through discussion groups and blogs, post videos, and participate in surveys.
A Chinese investment fund manager has won this year's eBay auction to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett. Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund submitted the winning bid of $2,110,100 making it the most expensive charity auction ever held on eBay. All proceeds will go to the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. Last year, partners from Aquamarine Capital Management LLC paid $650,100 to dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York City.
Dividend.com has launched a widget that can be added to financial websites and blogs to show the ratings of a dividend-paying stock. The widget is intelligently designed to display a blank space if the stock does not pay any dividends.
Forbes.com has announced its first-ever online investor conference to be held May 22, 2008, from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm EDT. All-Weather Portfolio Strategies will feature a special keynote discussion between Forbes Chairman and CEO Steve Forbes, and Robert Kiyosaki, CEO and Author, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The free online event will also feature nanotech guru Josh Wolfe and James H. Lowell, editor of Forbes ETF Advisor.
Investopedia.com has launched a special Forex section featuring a starter guide to foreign currency trading, 2 tutorials, over 40 articles on trading strategies, and 27 FAQs. Also featured is a PDF download of top 300 Forex terms.
CNBC has opened registration for its second CNBC.com Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge with trading beginning May 12, 2008. 10 weekly prizes will be given away along with a first prize of $250,000, a second prize of $100,000 and three third place prizes of $50,000. In a slight change of format from last year, each contestant will get $900,000 CNBC Bucks for stock trading and $100,000 CNBC Bucks for currency trading.
Motley Fool has revealed at today's FinovateStartup conference that it is distributing CAPS to Zecco Trading. Motley Fool is actively looking for partners to widen the distribution of its community-generated stock rating system. The CAPS stock screener combines community sentiment and fundamental financial criteria.
Mint.com has revealed at today's FinovateStartup
conference that it is planning to expand its suite of online money management tools to include investment tracking capabilities and a portfolio manager. The company currently enables users to manage their checking and credit card accounts while automatically getting recommendations for better interest rates.
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.
Forbes.com has issued a special report on Islamic finance which draws on Sharia, or Islamic law, to promote responsible investing. Investopedia.com, which is operated by Forbes Media, offers more articles and definitions on the topic.
