In the early 1990s, when I was in London, I ran across a weekly trade newspaper titled Money Marketing, aimed at British investment advisers.
In the early 1990s, when I was in London, I ran across a weekly trade newspaper titled Money Marketing, aimed at British investment advisers. What a great idea, I thought, and I brought back a copy of the paper to show Bill Bisson, who at that time was the publisher of our flagship financial publication, Pensions & Investments.
Bill was very aware of the investment adviser market. He had been tracking the ebbs and flows of Financial Planning magazine and Investment Advisor, and he was at the same time trying to get a handle on the future of pension management, the growth of the 401(k) market, and a shift by mutual funds from direct promotion to the adviser market.
Bill remembers that he and his colleagues, Mike Clowes and Nancy Webman, had discussions with Bill Shipman at State Street Bank, who was, way back then, doing a great deal of research into baby boomers and trends in the growth of the investment business.
We made a pass at one publication in the field, but the owner balked at the idea of turning his monthly into a hard-charging weekly. But by this time, about 1995, all signs pointed to a robust advertising and readership market for a high-frequency newspaper.
Bill kindly recalls saying that, had I not shown up with that copy of Money Marketing, "we may not have moved through our due diligence with the speed and enthusiasm with which we did."
So, all the signs pointed to a successful launch of a weekly news publication for investment advisers. Our new title immediately received a positive reader reception and showed advertising strength right out of the box.
In our first year of publishing (1997) we carried 597 pages of advertising. Two years later, InvestmentNews reached 840 pages — a phenomenal start. When the dot-com bubble burst, we suffered along with everybody else, losing 162 ad pages in 2002. (I remember that year vividly — it was as if advertising linage throughout our company hit a wall.) But by yearend 2004, we had climbed back up to 850 pages. Bill reminds me that InvestmentNews has carried more than 7,000 pages of advertising since we started.
What our readers liked about our publication was that there was nothing theoretical about our coverage. We talked about investment strategies, personnel moves, government regulation, mutual funds and equity fund activity and (as they say) much, much more. And I think what our readers also liked was that we covered the news of the industry objectively and aggressively, as is the philosophy of our 92-year-old company, Crain Communications Inc.
What's most exciting is the increasingly important role financial advisers are playing in their clients' lives, way beyond traditional investments. After all, investment advisers, in many cases, have been trusted allies of their clients for many years. When these baby boomers reach their retirement years, they're going to reach out to their advisers and financial planners in many ways. For example, depending on their interests, boomers will want input on where to resettle — a college town? By the sea? On a golf course?
I predict that financial planners increasingly will assume the role of an American Express Black Card concierge. Already, I read in my favorite investment adviser publication, planners are helping their clients find the right college for their sons and daughters (InvestmentNews, April 28), and soon they'll be assisting clients find the most satisfying second career or the best fractional jet ownership program.
Trust, of course, is the key ingredient.
The bond between an investment adviser and his or her client is very strong. That's the kind of bond we want to continue to build with our readers and advertisers.
We sincerely thank you for your support during our first 10 years, and we pledge to work hard to anticipate the increasingly broad scope of your services in the years ahead.
Rance Crain is president and editorial director of Crain Communications Inc., the parent company of InvestmentNews.
