From acting to the stock market

Rachel G. Fox, who is known for her role as Kayla Scavo on Desperate Housewives, also describes herself as a stock trader and finance blogger.

Fox, who is 19-years-old, made a 64 per cent annual return last year on her blog Fox on Stock which teaches young people about the stock market and how to look after their finances.

“I don’t specifically say ‘buy this’ or ‘invest in that’. I think people should always think for themselves, but I throw out different finance ideas, different investment ideas,” Fox said at the Web Summit, during her talk ‘Young, brilliant and under 23: meet the leaders of today’.

Rachel who has appeared in shows such as Hannah Montana, That’s So Raven and Melissa and Joey, didn’t go to college, but picked up her love for the stock market from her parents who are both in the finance industry.

“My mom always read me investing books when I was really young and when I was fifteen she mentioned A- Trading and I thought it was the coolest thing, I said I’m going to try it, I’m going to open up a virtual account and I’m going to read everything about it,” she said.

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are her favourite sites to trade on as they generate hype within her generation.

Fox who has been acting since she was nine told the audience at the Web Summit that it’s very important to her to maintain her public image.

“Your brand is you. It’s best to be super personal and don’t be afraid to be authentic and real,” she said.

Fox, who was listed in Time’s Most Influential Teens of 2014, thinks that her age is an advantage, but she has received some criticisms.

“I’m not trying to claim that I’m a stock wizard. I just want to connect with teens and I think it’s something we should all know about,” she said. “It’s always a bit of a struggle but if you’re doing the right things and doing them for a reason, it kind of holds no water.”

The 19-year-old still finds time to socialise, and her boyfriend William Le Gate, Founder and CEO of Ponder, a social media app that allows feedback on content, also spoke at the Web Summit alongside her.

“Will and I are boyfriend and girlfriend, it’s nice having cool friends who do awesome things like coming to events such as this,” she said.

Fox enjoys the balance between acting and trading, while it can be busy and stressful at times. “Everything is really different, I get to travel all around the world.”

Fox admits that she doesn’t always make the right call on the stocks but doesn’t dwell on it for long. “I think I blocked it out, I was probably depressed,” she said.

Looking to the future Fox said she “hopes to continue helping to affect change in any way that she can”.

Catherine Devine

Image credit: Catherine Devine