Editor Sue Whitbread talks to IFA Magazine publications Managing Partner Alex Sullivan about what the future holds for the organisation and also what advisers can look forward to next from one of the most innovative and exciting media groups in the UK financial services arena today.
These are exciting times at IFA magazine headquarters in Bristol. In July we celebrated the 50th edition of IFA Magazine, with the organisation growing rapidly and becoming increasingly active in providing more and more services for advisers.
Ed – Alex, before we discuss what’s happening within the group now and your plans for the future, can we first take a look back? How and when did the business begin? What was the idea behind launching it? Who was involved?
A: I have actually been involved in publishing for over 15 years now and launched other publications including one for a wealth management company. I realised that there was a need for a magazine designed and written for the advisers rather than the investment houses. My business partner, Paul Wilson, has a background in investment and financial services so it made complete sense to join forces in IFA Magazine Publications. Our aim was to be an authoritative editorial that advisers were happy to read in the same way as they might tune in to Radio 4 for commentary over breakfast or on their way to work. With co-founder Mike Wilson on board as Editor, we quickly realised we had a magazine that spoke honestly and directly to advisers. Mike’s “Ed’s Rant” section is still one of my favourite features, especially when Mike is on a mission, and the feedback we get from our readers is the same. I’ve said before that, with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps 2010 wasn’t the best time to launch a new financial services magazine, given the impact of RDR and the immense changes that advisers went through. However we realised quite quickly that we had created something special that advisers really enjoyed reading.
Q: Has the development of the business taken the path you thought it would or have there been unexpected twists and turns?
A: It has exceeded our original plan but mostly because the medium itself continues to change so rapidly. By that I mean that we started with print magazines but then expanded the business to include our own creative design team and digital marketing specialists at Fanatic Design. This means IFA Magazine along with its two sister publications EIS and ETF, are part of our bigger group of companies Clifton Media Lab which includes in-house film production and IFA Research Services. IFA Magazine goes out 10 times a year and EIS Magazine and ETF magazine (which offer more specialised articles in these sectors) go out in alternate months with IFA Magazine. Our website is updated all day, every day by our City Editor Neil Martin. It offers rapid transmission of topical issues and articles that, given how quickly news turns over, might not appear in the printed magazines themselves, so for advisers they have on-topic editorial and featured articles but access to a the news-cycle as well.
Q:Readers will be familiar with IFA magazine itself, but you mentioned Clifton Media Lab. Can you talk us through what other services the group currently offers and how advisers can benefit from them?
A: Clifton Media Lab is essentially a multi-media platform and that means we can do pretty much everything in house for our magazines and websites, from concept, design, content, web-development, SEO and digital marketing. But our creative team also work with commercial companies and individuals on complete re-branding. Much of their work will be known to our readers, although ironically they may not have known it was us who created it for them. Our in-house film company, Halo Films, is led by a BAFTA award winning film maker, Peter Georgi, and his team works closely with our editors to create interesting commercial films for clients highlighting products, individual funds or overall company profiles. We can also help advisers plan for retirement and selling their business through our brokerage Gunner & Co, run by Louise Jeffreys who is a regular contributor to this magazine. And now we have a new Head of Events, Kath Morgans who has recently joined us, like yourself, having been part of the successful team at the Institute of Financial Planning for many years. Kath is going to be relaunching our IFA Events series in the Autumn. So yes, exciting times ahead.
Q: 2016 has seen big changes at IFA magazine publications. Can you talk us through some of the most exciting ones?
A:I think this is probably a chance to turn the spotlight on you Ed, it’s been a terrific year mainly because we appear to have attracted even more talented staff – like yourself. Should I mention that the CISI/IFP’s loss has been our gain? Probably not!. We all know that a magazine is only as good as the people who create and write it and if we want readers to keep looking for information amongst our publications then it needs to have authorative content that isn’t the usual dry and boring facts and figures. It sounds obvious, but it has to be worth reading every day or every month. We have, I’m sure they don’t mind me saying, super-smart writers and editors who really engage with the issues directly with and for advisers, and directly with some of the best people in the financial sector. Between them they contribute content either in the print copy each month or daily on our news feed on our website. For us as a team it is really important that everyone has a voice. We want to be champions for advisers, for best advice and best practice so how we present our content is key to this. We have a new Commercial Director, Will Fearnley- Whittingstall, who had joined us in June from one of the major agencies in the City of London. He has brought a wealth of experience and new ideas, really inspiring us all once more. The core message that comes back to us from our readers over and over again, is that we are different from any other industry magazine, and that’s because our editorial is as edgy as it is topical. We are not reporters as such, but rather commentators and interpreters of news and impact from macro-economic issues to the smaller things that are important to advisers. Last year we conducted a readers’ survey and had over 200 completed responses. This gave us a terrific insight into what our readers think of us, what we do really well and what they wanted to hear more of, from us. We had several meetings in-house then and subsequently, to see how best we could incorporate the big issues they raised, and we are not finished yet. There are more topics that will be featured in the forthcoming issues – as ever, designed especially to meet the needs of our readership. We are hoping to introduce a new Readers’ Forum, a bit like Ed’s Soapbox, where advisers can tackle the big issues that keep them awake at night by asking questions directly of and to each other and to specialists in key sectors who can give them advice and answers straight from the companies themselves. So watch this space!
Q: You’ve always been pretty active in providing relevant events for advisers, but you have big plans to do even more in this space. Can you share those with us?
A: We have indeed and this is where we can provide events focused entirely on what our readers actually want to participate in, and importantly learn something from and it gives them opportunities to meet face to face with key industry people and each other. We have also worked to ensure that the educational quality of our events is accredited through CPD and this will always be a priority for us. Kath only joined us in June, and has an incredible success record of delivering the high quality events and conferences that IFP was so well known for. She has already planned two events in the autumn under a new theme of the ‘changing the landscapes of investment advice’, bringing a host of industry experts together in a really engaging way. It’s exciting stuff. And next year will see our first major IFA Convention which is being planned at the moment so I’m not going to steal Kath’s thunder as she will be launching these soon. Watch this space – actually, watch Kath’s events section of the website for more details.
Q:There are lots of other titles out there so what do you think differentiates the group and its services from the large number of other media groups operating in financial services? With most of them based in London is it more difficult for you being based in Bristol?
A: It is actually a real bonus being based outside the City of London, not least that Bristol is a vibrant, creative city and a beautiful place to live, but it means that we can maintain our independence in this space. By this I mean that where we differ from others is in our approach to our work, we think of ourselves as advocates for advisers – our media is their media – and we are very selective in the ratio of content to advertising we publish. We are a magazine that has key product placement not the other way round and all of the companies who advertise with us know it is really important to us that we maintain a good balance. We try to to be futurologists – for want of a better term – and offer insight and advice about what might be coming over the horizon for advisers, what might change the shape of investment, and what might impact on how advisers work. Offering information and analysis on better business strategies, key standards and best practice helps keep our readers informed. With clear news analysis they can read our comments and reactions to events both big and small. And of course work-life balance is incredibly important too. Bristol is a fantastic place to bring up a family. With London just a short train ride away direct into Paddington, it really is a win-win for us.
Q: Are there particular factors which you believe have been behind your success to date?
A: Great ideas succeed when you pick the right team, from partners to editors, creative designers and brilliant digital experts, we have the most talented people working together to produce quality products and services, and we are expanding rapidly so we must be doing it well.
Q:You’re an extremely busy person so how do you relax? What do you do in your spare time?
A: I have twin girls aged six, so they keep me on my toes. We recently invested in an all weather tent for camping trips which is fantastic given how unpredictable the weather has been this year. And hey – Cymru am byth – being Welsh, Rugby is definitely in the blood!
