The Personal Maria: Her Career & Influences
JK: If you could be doing anything else, what would it be and why? I believe you interviewed for the spot opposite Regis in his morning talk show. Would you eventually like to go that route?Bartiromo: When I was in school, the gamut of careers that I thought I would do included being a nurse, an interior decorator, and a pharmacist. When I was younger, I also wanted to be a back-up singer. The truth is, when I finally stumbled on broadcast journalism in business news, I realized I had found my true love and so, I must admit, I’m having the time of my life.
JK: Do you mind the “Money Honey” label?
Bartiromo: Initially, I did feel that it took away from my credentials. But the truth is, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’m flattered just to have gotten recognized. Also, I must admit, no one calls me that except the tabloid newspapers, and if that’s the way you’d like to refer to me, I’m happy to have gotten noticed. I don’t take myself or that name too seriously.
JK: Rumor is, you are into fashion. Who’s your favorite designer?
Bartiromo: I love Armani and Gucci. My style usually consists of clothes with simple and clean lines, accessorized with a pearl necklace.
JK: Do you get tired of the “What’s Warren Buffett doing?” questions?
Bartiromo: Not really. He has been a wonderful investor and he’s one of those people that the world likes to emulate. I wish him the best.
JK: You mention in the book that you only own several mutual funds that you purchased over ten years ago, before you began your current job. Have they performed well?
Bartiromo: They have performed in step with the market.
JK: If you were an average investor, sitting at home, what would your investment strategy be? Momentum? Value?
Bartiromo: I would mix it up between value and growth. I would look for companies that generate above-average revenue and earnings, and I would make sure that I understand the business, especially the product that is driving growth. Lastly, I would take the long-term view, and when I say long-term, I mean anywhere from three to five to ten years and beyond. In other words, don’t be scared out of the market over a short-term blip.
JK: What do you think are the one or two essentials that every new investor needs to know?
Bartiromo: The nuts and bolts of a company’s fundamentals are earnings and revenues. Revenues are how a company makes money and earnings are what’s left after it spends it. You can’t get more fundamental than that. Learn to read a company’s financial statements—I explain the news and noise of balance sheets, cash flow statements and income statement—and you’ll know have a good picture of where the company’s money is coming from, where it is going and, most important, how much money the company owes.
JK: Who is the one person that has made the biggest impact on your professional life?
Bartiromo: A couple of people. My husband is very smart about business information, so he’s always a wonderful sounding board for my ideas. My two biggest mentors have been Jack Welch of General Electric and Dick Grasso of the New York Stock Exchange. Both men have exhibited a strong, successful yet humble way about them. When a person becomes successful and yet never forgets who they are or where they come from to me is a great attribute, and I admire that greatly in an executive. Probably the greatest influence on me has been my mother. She and I are very close and I’ve watched her work very hard throughout my life and it has molded my character.
JK: You seem to love your job… have you always known you would be involved in finance?
Bartiromo: No, I fell into it. I had studied economics and journalism at NYU and expected to do something business-related, but then I got an internship at CNN in the financial broadcasting division and realized that I loved it. It was there where I began narrowing my focus to the markets and began putting together a great network of sources that I began calling on regularly.
