Stocks & Commodities V. 32:8 (38-43): Interview: Managing Money With Moe Ansari by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan

Interview: Managing Money With Moe Ansari by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan

Wrapping It Up

Moe Ansari is a financial expert and the host of “Market Wrap,” a nationally syndicated radio broadcast. This experience has helped him in managing the investment portfolios of thousands of clients at his firm, Compak Asset Management. He provides advice regularly to individuals and corporations. His professional experience includes option trading, portfolio optimization, futures trading, mutual fund selection modeling, and financial risk management. He is a nationally sought speaker and has conducted numerous financial seminars since the 1980s.

Throughout his career, Ansari has appeared as host or as a guest expert on various radio and television programs out of New York, Los Angeles, Florida, and San Diego. Over the years, his experience as an investment advisor and broadcaster has allowed him to share his financial wisdom with millions of listeners and viewers nationwide. In 2005, he was recognized by the US Congress as a “Man of Character” for his many years of service to the Boy Scouts of America on the Orange County Council.

STOCKS & COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan spoke with Moe Ansari on March 18, 2014 about minimizing risks and being content with what you make.

Moe, we interviewed you for this magazine in the late 1990s. Since then, I’m sure things have changed. Can you share some of those things with us?

I was a commodities trader at the time, which is how I started in this business. In the mid-1970s, I was a futures and option trader. I have been on the radio since 1988, and now we have one of the longest-running financial broadcasts in the nation. I have done this for 25 years.

In 2000, I realized there was too much at risk in the market and people didn’t understand the magnitude of that risk. As a trader, I thought it would be a time when everybody would hold long positions in the market, especially in the technology stocks. And sure enough, everybody was in the market. On my radio show, I would have listeners call in and say they were making more money trading than at their regular job. Many would say they were thinking of quitting their day job and becoming a full-time trader. My answer at the time was, “If you quit your day job, make sure you have a night job, because when the bear market comes, you’ll need it!”