Reinventing the Rivkins

Handing down the family business is a powerful legacy. But the changing of the guard can become complicated if you have a father in jail for insider trading and your private life is fodder for gossip columnists.

The financial services empire amassed by patriarch Rene Rivkin is testament to his ability to convert flamboyance and risk into profit taking in everything from investment books to seminars and subscription-based stock tips.

Now, it seems the self-styled investment guru has left the spotlight open for his second born, Jordan, who has stepped up as the managing director of the Rivkin Report and until recently as chairman of Rivkin Financial Services (RFS).

Thirty-year-old Jordan has been quietly transitioning into his role as the new Rivkin figurehead and is preparing to take the business in a new direction.

“I guess we are stock pickers, but we don’t try and determine what the market will and won’t do over the next 12 months,” he says.

But this is about to change.

Traditionally, the Rivkin Report has been favoured by short-term day trader types, but Jordan says the group will launch a new investment report by September aimed at the long-term investor.

“It’s aimed at retail investors who don’t want to be on top of things every day and aren’t focused on trading, but on a range of other things, for example debt securities, listed investment companies and listed property trusts. Basically, just a whole range of things that usually haven’t featured in terms of our event-driven philosophy,” he says.

Despite this, Jordan says it won’t encroach on the work of financial planners.

“The financial planners’ job is among other things to come up with recommendations for their clients. You say that effectively our report would be taking away from their business, but does it not add value in terms of what they can offer?”

The investment team on the Rivkin Report is led by Jordan, and consists of his brother Shannon, David Croll and family friend and co-founder Nigel Littlewood.

“We have someone else that has joined us. We’re not really at liberty to disclose their name, it’s a new senior appointment. This person brings a lot of experience in researching and analysing equities,” Jordan reveals.

“It’s a fairly small team in that sense, but basically we are fundamentalists and don’t look at charts so much, or at all really. We focus on value and fundamentals to ascertain a value,” he says.

When Andrew Davis bought Rene’s stake in RFS earlier this month there was talk of dropping the Rivkin name from the business, but intervention from corporate raider Farooq Khan has RFS embroiled in a boardroom stoush as its new owners battle for control.

Despite this, Jordan says he won’t be changing his name or his business name any time soon.