(pictured: Vanessa Stoykov)
Evolution Media is developing another television series and a new web portal following its recent move into mainstream direct-to-consumer broadcasting with its ‘No More Practice’ reality TV show about investments on the Nine Network.
Vanessa Stoykov, Evolution’s founder and chief executive, told a gathering at the Stone & Chalk technology hub in Sydney last week that the new web portal, to be called ‘Possibilities’, will provide a learning framework where people can engage online at a “very low cost” and access tutors from the investment industry.
She said Evolution had also shot a pilot program, involving former FPA chief executive Mark Rantall interviewing industry leaders, which she hoped would become a series for the industry.
About 40 people gathered at Stone & Chalk, including many of the participants in the latest series on Nine – ‘The Investment Series 3: the Philosophy Series’ – where one of the service providers to the show, Capital Preferences, is in residence. Stone & Chalk, a not-for-profit sponsored by about 20 big companies including AMP, is home to more than 70 start-ups.
Kerr Neilson, Platinum Asset Management founder and chair and one of the series presenters, said he supported the show as a way to help people get past “first-order thinking”, when they considered their investments.
“We’re trying to ask people to consider whether their first reaction is driven by knowledge, or a gut feeling or whether here’s been a little more consideration involved. We want people to test themselves,” he said.
Marcus Field, Evolution’s managing director, said that the latest series had touched nearly 1.6 million people since its launch early last month. Of these 1.1 million were via television and 490,000 via the website, which includes an investment game designed by Capital Preferences, designed to show people their true preferences towards money.
Field said that of the 480 people who had so far completed the game, 70 per cent were male, with an average age of 41. More than 50 per cent were described by their actions as “optimistic speculators”, which is the cohort of people most likely to get their investment decisions wrong.
“Collectively, they have assets of $110 million and expect this to grow to over $600 million within 10 years,” he said. “So, they’re not going to get there without some help.”
