1 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business Interview. I'm Sean Ailner. 2 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: It's very easy these days to buy and sell shares, 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: so easy, in fact, that it's almost possible to forget 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: the days of brokers and placing orders by phone or 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: facts if you know what they are. This month marks 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: the thirtieth anniversary of Comseck. It's now used by more 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: than forty percent of Australian investors, but on its first 8 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: day back in July nineteen ninety five, just four trades 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,880 Speaker 1: were placed via phone in facts at seventy five dollars each. 10 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: Investing has certainly changed, so to markets. Tom Petrovsky is 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: a market analyst at Comseck, a well known man in 12 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: the media and in markets. Tom, Welcome to Fear and Greed. 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 2: It's a pleasure to be here, Sean. Thank you very much. 14 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: Set the scene thirty years ago, what was it like 15 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: to place a trade? Although this was before your time, Tom, 16 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: I hastened to add, well. 17 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 2: Slightly before my time. Yeah, I suppose I turned up 18 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 2: when and concept was heading off to kindergarten. Right, So 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 2: now it's I suppose a fully formed entity. I suppose 20 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 2: as a thirty year old it's really evolved in a 21 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 2: manner that has run parallel with so many of the 22 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 2: things that have changed in society, be they demographic, technological, 23 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 2: you know, just in terms of where our value system lies, 24 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 2: in terms of you know, the landscape of what we 25 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 2: do with our money. So yeah, those those early days 26 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 2: were you know, typical I suppose of that start up 27 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 2: type environment where you know, this was just before the 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,559 Speaker 2: year two thousand where you had you know that further 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 2: around emerging the emerging Internet. It hadn't really formed fully. 30 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 2: It was, I suppose, was an appendage to things rather 31 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 2: than the nucleus of things the way things are today. 32 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 2: So yeah, it was. I think you may have mentioned 33 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 2: there that four orders were firsased on that first day, 34 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 2: and I think quite a few of them came in 35 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 2: by facts. Now, on average we do forty thousand orders 36 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 2: of days, so a quantum leap. But it also speaks 37 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 2: to you know, how Austraie participation in the investing and 38 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 2: share market landscape in particular has changed. So you know, 39 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 2: probably by the late nineties, it wasn't the exclusive realm 40 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 2: that would have been in decades prior. In the seventies, 41 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 2: for example, of the sixties even you know, this is 42 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:56,959 Speaker 2: a very elite preserve. So you know, what technology does 43 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 2: often is democratic wherever it emerges. And that's precisely what 44 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 2: has happened with technology and the share market, and concept 45 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 2: was a big part of that is creating a greater 46 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 2: accessibility for the average person to be able to access 47 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 2: the extraordinary benefits of investing in shares. 48 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: I suppose, Yeah, what's interesting the trade back then, those 49 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: for trade seventy five dollars. Today they're less than twenty dollars. 50 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: I can't tell exactly how much they are tom but 51 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,920 Speaker 1: certainly world south of twenty dollars. Not many things you 52 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: can think is a quarter the price thirty years on, 53 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: but this is one of them. 54 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 2: Well, again, that's what technology and efficiency does. It opens 55 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 2: it up the breadth of it creates those low prices 56 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 2: and that efficiency of delivery. And you see that probably 57 00:03:55,160 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 2: most acutely with the investment products that people can access 58 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 2: now compared to what it was like in the old days. 59 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 2: So obviously ETFs the groundbreaking achievement and that accessibility is 60 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 2: reflected in their extraordinary growth over the course of the 61 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 2: last decade, and that will probably can continue. Would think 62 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 2: for some time to come. It's still very much a 63 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 2: growth factor. 64 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: I was looking at the top stocks from nineteen ninety five. 65 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: Today BHP was there, then there today National Australia Bank, 66 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: which was actually the leading bank thirty years ago. It's 67 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: been surpassed by Commonwealth Bank. But National Australia Bank was 68 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: their Commonwealth Bank I think was a top ten stock 69 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: back there. Westpac was there, but companies like News Corps 70 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: CRA News Corps still listed cur no longer. It's funny 71 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: that the market's changed, but it hasn't because the big 72 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: banks and the big miners are still the cornerstone of 73 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: our market. 74 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 2: Tom Well sean we're probably old enough, sadly, to be 75 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 2: able to recognize the importance of fundamentals and how fundamental 76 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 2: things in the share market are prized overall because they're 77 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 2: the things that deliver the growth and the income. So 78 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 2: you know, a blue chip company is a blue chip 79 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 2: company is a blue chip company. So the similarity in 80 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 2: that list, you know, is what's breathtaking. And I suppose 81 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 2: if you're a young person and you're just familiarizing yourself 82 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 2: with this landscape, you know, these are the sorts of 83 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 2: things that are really important to understand, yes, it might 84 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 2: be fun to engage in that creating of meme stocks, 85 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 2: whatever that is. I mean, that's an elusive concept as 86 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 2: far as I'm concerned, you know, still trying to get 87 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 2: my head around what that actually means. Someone comes up 88 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 2: with a picture of something and then that becomes. 89 00:05:58,400 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: The stock of the day. 90 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 2: We all know what I'm aging myself, but you know, 91 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 2: and we joked about it. But if you're a young person, 92 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 2: you know, and you are trying to put together, you know, 93 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 2: a nest egg for one of the better expression, you know, 94 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 2: being rewarded by the fundamentals that drive these organizations in 95 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 2: that list of what you need to calibrate your thinking towards. 96 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 2: Because you know, when you see these interviews with famous 97 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:32,680 Speaker 2: investors who you know might be in their sixties or seventies, 98 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 2: you know they have a massed, vast amounts of money. 99 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 2: If you ask, if they get asked, you know, would 100 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 2: they trade all their money for youth? They always do, 101 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 2: you know. So the important thing about being young is 102 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 2: you have time in your side, and that's something that 103 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 2: an old person can't buy, that can only wish for. 104 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: Stay with me, Tom, We'll be back in a minute. 105 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: I guess this morning is comsext market endlest Tom Petrowski 106 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: tell us more about concept today. It sounds like the 107 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: demographics they're getting younger, more females. 108 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 2: Is that right, all of those things? You know, I 109 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 2: suppose that's another thing that has changed significantly over the 110 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 2: course of the last thirty years is the demographics around investors. 111 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 2: So almost half of com sex customers under forty at 112 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 2: the moment, So you know, in times gone by, that 113 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 2: was the preserve of perhaps an older demographic, perhaps a 114 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 2: slightly more elite group, used to always be associated with 115 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 2: investing in the share market. And that comes back to 116 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 2: that earlier point that we were making around how technology 117 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 2: democratizes the things that it touches. And you know, when 118 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 2: you can deliver a service digitally and effectively frictionlessly, you 119 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 2: know that is something whether it's share trading or anything, 120 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 2: particularly from an investing perspective, you look for that frictionless 121 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 2: digital delivery because that can really open markets up or 122 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 2: services up. And that was certainly the case where Comsek 123 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 2: is concerned. 124 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: And I think something else that Compak has done is 125 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: pushed into financial literacy. So it's had the technology, the availability, 126 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: but it's really important people understand what they're doing. Referring 127 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: back to your meme coin comment versus fundamentals. Comseex has 128 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: pushed hard into that, and maybe that's why you're getting 129 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: younger people using comsex. 130 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. One thing that we have always put a high 131 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 2: value on within the organization is making sure that we 132 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 2: help the customer as much as we can along their journey. 133 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 2: So if you're a person that's new to the share market, 134 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 2: will help in that regard, but you know, if you're 135 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 2: or perhaps more familiar with investing, we also think really 136 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 2: carefully about what the addition of value is that we 137 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 2: are able to bring to the table if you're a 138 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 2: high value customer as well. So we try to straddle 139 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 2: that entire landscape. But it's a pretty crowded universe when 140 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:26,199 Speaker 2: it comes to educating investors. So I suppose if you're 141 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 2: a young person you're starting out, it's really important to 142 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 2: find the voice that resonates with you, but also you know, 143 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 2: a voice that you can trust, and we try really 144 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 2: hard to do that with the material that we produce 145 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 2: every day. 146 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 1: What about accessibility, Certainly thirty years ago was very difficult 147 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: actually buy an overseas share today very simple to do it. 148 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: You can go into comset and buy C shares. Not 149 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: every chair obviously, but you know a bunch of them. 150 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: Definitely more and more options. You mentioned et, where are 151 00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: we going? Do you think? 152 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 2: I think we're rapidly heading in a direction where we're 153 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 2: going to have to check the frictionless way that money 154 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 2: can move around at some point, because we are moving 155 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 2: rapidly towards a landscape where in the future digital currencies 156 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 2: will be the norm, and the ability to exit and 157 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 2: enter markets or assets will be a universe away from 158 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 2: it where it is now. And we've seen examples in 159 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 2: recent times of what rapid movement of money in and 160 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 2: out of markets can do in terms of volatility and 161 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:48,959 Speaker 2: indeed creating an atmosphere of trust in that market. Liquidity 162 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 2: and the trust in a place where prices are made 163 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 2: doesn't get talked about enough. It gets taken for granted. 164 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 2: But without liquidity and without being that faith in prices 165 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 2: being made, you don't have a market, and then you 166 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 2: don't have a lot of things thereafter, and the knock 167 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 2: on effect can be significant. So these are all things 168 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 2: that regulators have to think about very carefully. As far 169 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 2: as the bigger picture is concerned, and I suppose that's 170 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 2: been part of the reason why, you know, the converts 171 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 2: around cryptocurrencies, for example, perhaps might be a little bit 172 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 2: exasperated about how slowly things are moving, but there's good 173 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 2: reason for being careful around this conversation. I suppose. 174 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: Well, Tom, congratulations thirty years of Concept. Congratulations to Concept. 175 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: Congratulations to you because you have been the face probably 176 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: for the last ten years or so. And then we 177 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: better have a shout out to Craig James, a wonderful 178 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: Craig James. He was chief economist a Concept for many 179 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: years as well. He was sort of the original face. 180 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 1: We wish him well too. 181 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 2: So how you going to celebrate, Well, Sean, it's that 182 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 2: sort of thing is very nice, and you know, there's 183 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 2: a whole team of people in this organization that works tirelessly. 184 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 2: But the real celebration here, and I don't mean to 185 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 2: sound too because it's sincere, is the celebration of our customers. Right. 186 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 2: If we don't have the faith and the trust of 187 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 2: our customers, we have nothing, and we try really hard 188 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 2: every day to do our best buy that so that's 189 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 2: where the celebration is in our relationship with the people 190 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 2: that matter most. 191 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: Fantastic Tom, thank you for talking to Fear and Greed. 192 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 2: Thank you for the time. I'm really grateful. 193 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: Now it is Tom Petrowski, market analyst at Concept. This 194 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: is the Fear and Greed Business Interview. Join us every 195 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,439 Speaker 1: morning for the full episode of Fear and Greed. Business 196 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: news you can use, I'm sure all money. Enjoy your day.