Expert Or Entertainer?
Sunrise‘s Kochie might be the most recognisable expert among the financial media heavyweights, but the public don’t rate his level of knowledge – despite his strong economic background.
burningpants affiliate CoreData Labs recently canvassed the views of more than 250 Australians to determine how our financial experts in the media are perceived.
The research found David Koch was by far the most recognisable financial expert, with 85% of respondents identifying the co-host of Channel Seven’s Sunrise program and host of Kochie’s Business Builders.
Kochie came in just ahead of Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond (78%) who was decidedly more recognisable than Wizard home loans founder Mark Bouris.
Bouris, the current chairman of Yellow Brick Road financial planning, was recognised by only 38% of respondents despite being the host of The Apprentice Australia, which screened on Channel Nine in 2009 to an average audience of around 800,000 people.
However as the research shows, recognition could in fact have an adverse affect on the public perception of intelligence, suggesting that the more ubiquitous one is, the less expert they are considered.
Rather than being seen as a financial expert, three quarters of respondents (73.1%) consider Kochie to be an entertainer. Two in five people (41.3%) identify him as a journalist and only 32.3% as an economist.
While having founded business and investment magazines Personal Investment and My Business as well as Money Management newspaper, Kochie is clearly known these days as the host of Sunrise and not as a financial expert.
He ranked last among the nine experts measured in the perception of knowledge of economics (6.39 out of 10), insurance (5.80) and interestingly investment (6.32).
For overall financial knowledge, Kochie scored 6.48, putting him just above Andrew Main (6.39) – author and Business Editor of The Australian - in second to last place.
Scott Pape was considered the most knowledgeable regarding financial matters, topping the ratings in the areas of superannuation (7.02 out of 10), investment (7.32), taxation (6.83), insurance (6.44) and economics (7.24).
Yet contrary to Kochie, The Barefoot Investor is known more for his expertise than his face. In terms of photograph recognition, Pape came seventh out of the nine experts in the study, and of those who did not recognise Pape by his photo only 4.8% were familiar with his name.
Pape was also considered the most trustworthy (7.12), truthful in how he presents himself (7.37) and in touch with financial matters that affect everyday Australians (78.0%).
Significantly, he has the greatest endorsement power, with two in five respondents (41.5%) indicating they would buy a product or service based on his recommendation.
Ross Greenwood and Michael Pascoe, the finance commentators from rival channels Seven and Nine, provided some interesting comparisons. Public recognition was low with Pascoe just beating Greenwood (51.9% vs 50.8%).
In terms of financial knowledge, however, Greenwood is clearly considered more knowledgeable coming in equal third with Symond (both 6.92) behind Pape and Alan Kohler (7.01).
4 Comments on “Expert Or Entertainer?”
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Robert says:
Nice article but what are their qualifications and experience.
ASIC compliance, financial planning, economics, business??
Cammo. says:
Financial know-how differs from person to person no question about that, would not take Koshie’s advice, but really if you are relying on the TV for your financial knowledge you are in serious trouble, Kohler is head and shoulders above the rest and clearly displays in simple terms what the market is doing, but the fact of the matter is does anyone really know the financail markets and what they will and won’t do, I have an appointment with Charlie tonight when I get home, he is my dog and I think he has it covered, just stay happy….that is good advice..
allan says:
I must have missed it, that is when Koch was an expert on business. What Kochy is good at is selling but I would never rely on him for expert knowledge on financial matters. Look for the people who wrote for his publications not the spin doctor.
Accountant & FP says:
I would like to know each of the people’s qualifications and backgrounds for all to compare. I agree that Kochie and others have made more money from the sale of books and establishing other mags and good on them. I do not know if he helps people in their understanding of the real issues. For example they only mention very basic and mundane things regarding tax and then point you in the direction of the ATO or some other website. I could do that.I am both a accountant and financial planner and know the things that help my clients.