Decoding the Wall Street Journal, One Step at a Time

Nicole Lapin's fresh startup, Nothing But Gold, launched its second venture this week: Decoding The Wall Street Journal.

The new site was designed to act as a hub for a subscription-only newsletter that “tackles and interprets intimidating money-related topics for individuals interested in financial news and guidance.”

Former Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi, who now serves as the Chief Business Officer of Nothing But Gold, will act as the editor of Decoding The WSJ. Earlier today, Sozzi took a moment to speak with Benzinga about the newsletter, his role, and the challenge of understanding financial terminology. Most notably, Sozzi said that he and Lapin wanted to create something that would help people rise above their feeling of helplessness.

“Helplessness if you're a college kid,” Sozzi explained. “Helplessness if you want to do well on an interview using financial terms. These are terms we're being fed consistently throughout the day through many unique applications, whether it's a Bloomberg application on the phone, seeing information on the Bloomberg iPad app, watching CNBC. We're hearing these terms constantly and no one knows what they mean except for the people who work on Wall Street and people who are very close to the financial markets.

“Where we're coming in, we're going try and break down key words and empower that college kid, and empower that trader that thinks they know but they don't really know, and empower baby boomers who are at home, they're in the market – not necessarily very aggressively, but they have a 401k, and they watch financial news television or read the newspaper and they don't necessarily…they gloss over what The Wall Street Journal has to say, because they don't understand the terms. They weren't taught in college. They were essentially created out of thin air.”

Sozzi hopes that Decoding The WSJ will empower readers with the information they need to succeed. “And as we build up their knowledge base, we will take them and guide them into specific stock picks, tell them to avoid certain sectors – the whole point is being actionable,” said Sozzi. “So I think once you give the power to the people, so to speak, with these words and what they mean, I think it will enable people to make winning stock calls and also understand the meaning behind those stock calls.”

When I asked if this meant that the newsletter was primarily for investors, Sozzi clarified that while Decoding The WSJ was designed to help those who trade, “It really is for everybody.”

“It is for my stepmother, who is a small business owner,” said Sozzi. “She does not read the Wall Street Journal, but she should because her small business could be impacted in ways that she may not even appreciate. So if she knew 15 of our Decoding Toolbox words, she could understand why wood prices are higher or why wood prices are lower. She may not buy stock, but she'll be able to understand why certain trends in her business are changing, and I think that's critical.”

“Also,” Sozzi continued, “I feel very passionate about bringing this content to – not just the average Joe or the average investor – but to college students. Nicole and I have been out there talking to college students and we're actually quite shocked that, sure, these kids are book smart, and that is great. But there is a big disconnect between the college institution and what they're teaching and, when that kid leaves the school, if they want to get in the finance field, even if they major in liberal arts, at some point they're going to come across MSNBC and have no idea what they're saying. And they're just not being schooled appropriately on that matter.”

Finally, I asked Sozzi if Decoding The WSJ had a partnership with The Wall Street Journal.

“We don't,” he replied. “And that is something we are exploring in the weeks ahead….because essentially we are breaking down the language that's in their paper, and it's language that has been around since day one this paper was created. And nobody, in my opinion, has taken a step back… Sure, you have a site like Investopedia, maybe Motley Fool, but even there explanations of these words, terms and concepts need to be decoded. That's where we come in. We're gonna hammer that down to little, itty-bitty pieces. And we're gonna do it in a fun way – in a way that you will be able to carry to a party or an interview.”

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