Deirdre Bolton takes on Fox Business with ‘Risk & Reward’

Beauty, brains and a knack for business and finance? Deirdre Bolton is pretty much the whole package. The 42-year-old Newtown, Pennsylvanian is readying the launch of her ambitious new show, Risk & Reward, which debuts today (Monday) at 1 PM/ET on Fox Business Channel.

When it comes to stocks and bonds, people have always followed the rule of 60/40 – 60 percent stocks, 40 percent bonds. Bolton is about to break the norm with her new weekly program, showing average folks that there are other ways to bankroll with alternative investments. That includes technology, real estate, startups, food & wine, and even art. "Industry changes are giving the average investors access to more choices," Bolton said. "The show primarily focuses on showing people what other options are out there, putting them into context, and allowing them to choose for themselves if it's the right choice for their own portfolios."

Bolton is quite the business and finance news veteran. Before hopping over to Fox Business she spent over a decade with Bloomberg Television where she first began reporting from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and most recently exited from her program Money Moves. Her ventures into the business world stemmed from her passion for language. "As a kid I was always interested in television and radio because of its use of language," she said. Even at a young age, being educated at local institutions likes Grey Nun Academy, Germantown Academy, and Council Rock High, she was a veracious reader and was lucky enough to have spent some of her teen years abroad. "I knew it was a big world very quickly."

Bolton studied literature as an undergrad at University of Iowa and then achieved her master's at NYU, but most of her schooling was spent in France where she picked up the native language. Two French banks then hired her thanks to her excelled language skills, thus her introduction into the world of business and finance. The jobs required loads of reading and processing large amounts of material, which was great editorial training for her future as a television anchor at Bloomberg, and now Fox Business.

Deirdre's switch to Fox Business was merely a matter of new opportunity and more creative freedom. She came to the network with the idea for Risk & Reward and it was an instant hit. "Alternative investing is an immensely untapped field and Deirdre's expertise in this area will help broaden our market hours coverage," said Kevin Magee, Executive Vice President of Fox Biz. She's also joining an impressive roster of female anchors at the station, including Opening Bell's Maria Bartiromo. "It's fantastic. We have this powerhouse now," Bolton said.

So what can folks expect from the program? Deirdre will be sparking up daily conversation with the industry's leading experts while exploring the world of alternative assets and other non-traditional ways to make money outside of stocks and bonds. Each Friday a short segment called "Elevator Pitch" will literally have budding investors ride an elevator for 30 seconds while giving a panel of qualified judges their own elevator pitch. The assessors will then give them a thumbs up, or down in addition to any constructive criticism they may have for the competitor.

Risk & Reward with Deirdre Bolton premieres Monday, March 31, 1-2 PM/ET on Fox Business and will air regularly on weekdays. The show replaces Markets Now.