Our Story in Milestones
Every stage of our journey has been shaped by the people we've worked with and the lessons they've taught us about what investors actually need.
Foundation Years
Started with basic investment workshops in Bella Vista. Our founder, Elspeth Kavanagh, had spent fifteen years working in portfolio management and noticed a gap — most educational resources assumed people already understood market fundamentals. We built our first curriculum around the questions clients actually asked during consultations.
Digital Expansion
Moved our content online after regional participants kept asking for remote access to workshops. This shift changed how we structured information — breaking complex strategies into modules people could revisit. We learned that most professionals prefer evening sessions they can fit around work schedules.
Research Integration
Partnered with market analysts to incorporate real-time data into our teaching approach. This wasn't about prediction — it was about showing participants how to interpret market signals themselves. We added case study analysis based on actual Australian market conditions from the past twenty years.
Current Focus
Today we're working on advanced strategy modules for experienced investors who want to refine their approach. Our autumn 2025 program focuses on portfolio diversification techniques suited to current market conditions. We've kept the core principle from 2003 — teach people to make their own informed decisions, not to follow preset formulas.
How We Approach Investment Education
We've built our methodology around three principles that emerged from thousands of hours working with investors. These aren't marketing points — they're the framework our entire curriculum follows.
Context Over Formulas
Most investment courses teach strategies as fixed rules. We teach you how to evaluate whether a strategy fits your situation. You'll work through scenario analysis using different market conditions from Australian history.
- Market cycle recognition
- Risk assessment frameworks
- Timing considerations
- Personal factor evaluation
Research Skills First
The ability to analyse information matters more than memorising current trends. Our modules focus on teaching you how to evaluate company reports, interpret economic indicators, and identify which data points are worth your attention.
- Financial statement analysis
- Data interpretation methods
- Source verification techniques
- Pattern recognition practice
Realistic Risk Discussion
Every investment carries trade-offs. We spend as much time discussing what can go wrong as what might go right. You'll learn to quantify risk levels and match them to your actual tolerance — not some theoretical profile.
- Downside scenario planning
- Loss tolerance assessment
- Diversification strategies
- Recovery timeframe analysis
The People Behind polivexarion
Our teaching team comes from varied backgrounds — portfolio management, market research, financial planning. What they share is patience with questions and a preference for showing their work. No mysterious expertise or guru positioning. Just experienced professionals who remember what it was like learning this material themselves.
Elspeth still leads program development, though she jokes that participants teach her as much as she teaches them. Every question that stumps someone becomes a new module. Every common misconception gets addressed in the next curriculum update. That feedback loop has shaped how we present information.
Tamsin Driscoll
Programme CoordinatorI joined polivexarion in 2019 after working in investment advising for twelve years. What I appreciate most is that we don't pretend investing is simple. We respect that people need time to develop judgement — you can't rush that with a weekend crash course.
