Even after 55 years as a stockbroker, Brent Potts is still going strong. Every day, Potts arrives at his desk to talk to the smartest investors around. He never misses lunch with clients or colleagues. So much so that even in spite of the Coronavirus, he organised for a local Japanese restaurant to deliver food to his workplace (and for that matter, all his colleagues) at Blue Ocean Equities.
Over the past half-century, his client rolodex has included Nine's Kerry Packer, Premier Investments' Solomon Lew, ex-Adsteam boss John Spalvins, and even Barbra Streisand.
Potts has seen just about everything in the Australian market. Through the 1980s, his business partner was the flamboyant Rene Rivkin. Since then, he has built several broking businesses of his own. Each time he sells, he starts again and constructs another operation. He also tends to back his ideas with his own money - something that has served him and his clients well over the years.
In our latest edition of Success and More Interesting Stuff, you’ll hear from Brent first-hand about his career, his take on modern investing, and the future of his storied life.
Time-Codes
0:00 - Intro 2:00 - Early life 4:40 - Early career 11:35 - Finance in the 1970s 14:14 - Relationships with key clients 29:20 - Lessons from the 1987 collapse 33:12 - Starting over 36:57 - Brokerage in modern finance 41:20 - The importance of workplace culture 45:35 - Differences in finance from the ’70s to today 50:10 - Lessons from the market 55:45 - Future of Brent Potts