Laura Suter, Editor of the newly relaunched Fund Strategy, talks to Bulletin about creating a magazine top-tier investment professionals will keep on their desk, covering Daniel Godfrey’s unceremonious departure from the Investment Association and the lack of women in senior fund management roles.
What was the thinking behind rebranding Fund Strategy?
The magazine needed a look that reflected the fact it is a high-end product. Fund Strategy is aimed at the top-tier investment market and is read by discretionary fund managers, top-end wealth managers, fund selectors and investment managers acting for sophisticated clients. We needed to reflect that readership. The magazine looks cleaner, is more clearly laid out and more attractive. It is a quality monthly magazine that people will want to keep on their desks to refer to.
Why has fundstrategy.co.uk replaced fundweb.co.uk?
The previous site dated from a time when it was standard practice to have different identities online and in print. It was also starting to look slightly tired as websites tend to do after a few years. Fund Strategy has really strong recognition in the industry so we wanted to bring all that firepower together under a single brand. It took a lot of hard work, was a really good team effort and there has been a lot of positive feedback from readers.
What makes Fund Strategy unique in a crowded marketplace?
Because it’s a monthly magazine there’s room for a lot of in-depth analysis from top investment professionals, interviews with the fund groups that matter, expert views and coverage of key topics in the industry. Breaking news is handled by fundstrategy.co.uk and the analysis that appears in the print edition feeds through to the website so there’s a really good level of high-quality content.
Is there a story that you are particularly proud of?
I thought that our coverage of Daniel Godfrey’s ousting from the Investment Association was great. We got a tip-off really early on, followed the story throughout the day and we were first to get the full details of the circumstances surrounding his departure. Again, it was a really good team effort.
As an editor, what do you look for in a story?
Naturally, we’re looking for anything that will interest our core readership: new angles on the market, fund launches, regulation, political changes and distribution. Essentially, we want to cover anything that will have an impact on investment advisers and top-end wealth managers.
Are there any habits that you would like PR teams to avoid?
Those I deal with are generally very good. As long as they understand what we’re interested in and don’t call about irrelevant content then there’s no problem.
What would you like to change in the fund management sector?
The lack of female representation in fund management is a really big challenge for the industry. The gender divide is being discussed more regularly but it is still a very male-dominated environment. Columbia Threadneedle recently disclosed the proportion of women it employs in senior roles but, on the whole, little action is being taken by the industry and that needs to change.
