TV News

RFD-TV’s Markets Specialist Scott Shellady Breaks Down The Financial Headlines So Anyone Can Understand. By Barb Oates He’s hard not to notice. First, it’s his black-and-white cow-patterned suitcoat. Then, there’s his fashionable white-rimmed glasses. He’s also a pretty sizable guy at 6 feet tall and 325 pounds. But really, it’s his down-to-earth, relatable approach to the market that makes the Cow Guy (aka Scott Shellady) a trusted source for financial news. “I do have an ability to explain a difficult thing like I would like it explained,” Shellady tells us. “Everybody always wants to make it tougher than it is so they can look smart. I don’t like that. I try to dumb it down and explain it like I would like it explained to me.” Born in Des Moines, Iowa, and raised in the Midwest, Shellady credits his father’s successful career in finance with leading him to take interest in the subject, but it wasn’t his first choice. He started out playing football for the University of Colorado, where he was pursuing an art major (his mother’s side has several artists). When he broke both of his hands and could no longer draw, he dropped out of art and turned to finance. Shellady graduated from college in 1988, a year after the market crash, saying “I could have wallpapered my bedroom with rejection letters,” but a “very low-paying job” led the then 23-year-old to a position in London where he soaked up international market intelligence before advancing to bigger banks like Deutsche Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan. He even dabbled in a trading tech startup before coming back to the States and working as a trader. “When I came back to the States, I was partners with my father for one year before he retired with Alzheimer’s and then, ultimately, passed away, which was the best year of my life — to be partners with your dad,” Shellady shared. “It was just by happenstance that I was in the pits in 2006 or 2007 and somebody from Successful Farming magazine approached me and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in doing a video after the close once a week, just to tell us what has been happening in the market?’” Well, the Cow Guy proved to be a natural and was soon doing segments for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and other news outlets like CNN and FOX, which ultimately led to his own show, Cow Guy Close (Mon-Fri at 2pmET) on RFD-TV. “I came to RFD-TV because it’s got a rural background. It’s rural America’s most important network,” he shares. “I’m a financial guy. Yes, we do have a family farm and yes, I dress like a cow every day. All right. Those are the two angles of things that I have. I started in the agricultural world, but most of my life has been spent with equities, bonds, stocks, shares, all that stuff.” Here Shellady shares more on his signature brand and his fans. When did your cow-print jacket come into play? My dad wore it before I did because if you’ve ever seen Trading Places or any other trading movie, there’s usually a visitors’ gallery where people from the general public can come view what’s happening. We still have a farm. At the time, it was a dairy farm when I was a kid, but we still own a farm in Illinois. We milked cows. My father wanted to remind all the people in the visitors’ gallery that it’s just not gambling. There actually is an important economic function taking place where we’re setting the price of corn, butter, meat, milk, whatever. He knew that people would say, “Hey, what’s the guy doing in the black-and-white cow jacket?” … Then when he retired, I thought it would be really cool if I started wearing my dad’s trading jacket. Do you wear your coat, too, when you travel? I've traveled the world, and I get stopped in restaurants in Tokyo, airports in Singapore, all over Europe and in the States. It’s just amazing. I'm terribly humbled by it because I never thought it could ever happen. … I only ever wear a Holstein cow black-and-white shirt wherever I go now. … I’ve been on airplanes flying to Australia and the captain of the plane will come back and sit with me and ask me about his portfolio. So what is your typical fan experience like? Oh, it’s always good. My father was from a very poor background, so I’ve inherited that mentality. I look up at everybody, not down at anybody. It’s not because I have to think about doing it, it’s just my natural demeanor. I’m terribly blessed. I had my only daughter, a 17-year-old, she died at 17. My dad died two days after she did. I lost my little brother two years ago at the age of 51. There’s tons of tragedy [in my life], but I am still the most blessed person. Do people have to be financially savvy to understand your show? No. I pretend like I’m talking to my mom. My mom’s not financially savvy. She’s the artist in our family. I just pretend like I’m talking to my mom because everybody loves to put up barriers to entry to make themselves look smart. They’ll put abbreviations like PPI, CPI, GEP and then not tell you what it really means because you’re supposed to be intimidated. I think that sucks. I’d rather have you learn something. Outside of the news and the economy, what do you enjoy watching on TV or streaming? I’m a history buff. I cannot turn off Antiques Roadshow. Anything, any show that’s about good old country homes in England, I just love it. My wife and I, this is my second marriage, we got married four years ago, in a church in the Cotswolds. I do love the country. I like the city, but I guess I like them both. Having both is a great break from each other. I don’t know if I can handle the city 100% of the time or the country 100% of the time, but I love the contrast. It’s like a barbecue potato chip followed by a sour cream and onion. Each one makes the other one better.   Cow Guy Close airs Monday - Friday on RFD-TV at 2pmET