Headlinemoney Awards 2017
Tuesday 16 May 2017 Grosvenor House Hotel, London
2017 Winners
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AWARDS 2017
Welcome From the Chairman Large amounts of time and huge slabs of effort characterise the Headlinemoney Awards and especially the programme’s various stakeholders who have contributed so magnificently to this much-respected annual event down the years. First, there are the nominations (thousands of them) which members of the financial services media make to start the awards process rolling each year. Could Headlinemoney opt for a simpler, box-ticking exercise? Probably. But where would be the fun in that? Journalists are used to standing up stories. For these awards, they’re asked to justify their nominations. Secondly, there are the detailed submissions supplied from those successful enough to reach the shortlists. Next, is the huge amount of time and effort supplied by our 100+ judges (a list of names appears later in this book). Yes, some individuals leave their scoring a bit late, and others participate in the judging sessions via long-distance conference calls. The point is that all are keen to have their say because they know these awards matter to so many in the industry. Talking of contributions, thanks very much as well to all of this year’s sponsors. I hope you enjoy ‘financial services media’s favourite night of the year’ as much as I have enjoyed chairing the judging sessions.
Contents
Nominations, New Awards & Judging
03
The Judges
05
07 Mortgage Journalist of the Year 09 General Insurance Journalist of the Year 11 Investment Journalist of the Year 13 Financial Health and Life Insurance Journalist of the Year 15 Pensions Journalist of the Year 16 Savings Journalist of the Year 17 Rising Star of the Year (B2B) 19 Rising Star of the Year (Consumer) 20 Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year 21 Expert of the Year 22 Rising Star of the Year 23 PR Professional of the Year 25 In-house Press Team of the Year 26 PR Agency of the Year 27 Outstanding Achievement Award 28 HouseholdMoney Journalist of the Year 29 Financial Blog of the Year 31 Consumer Champion of the Year 33 Financial Commentator of the Year 34 Freelance Journalist of the Year 35 Consumer Money Journalist of the Year 36 Financial B2B Journalist of the Year 37 Financial Broadcast Journalist of the Year 39 Financial Journalist of the Year (Local/Regional Titles) 40 Digital Innovation of the Year 41 Financial B2B Title of the Year 43 Consumer Money Title of the Year 45 Headlinemoney Journalist of the Year
Andrew Michael Chairman of Judges Headlinemoney Awards 2017
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AWARDS 2017
Nominations, New Awards & Judging
The 2017 Headlinemoney Awards celebrate editorial excellence and top-flight communications from around the world of financial services media. This year’s event features a handful of new awards. In the journalism categories, for example, we’ve added a savings trophy as well as one for digital innovation. In the PR section we’ve added an agency of the year award for external PR firms to sit alongside a separate prize which recognises the work of in- house press offices. The thought leadership initiative became self-nominating for the first time and very popular it proved. As usual with our PR/comms awards, it’s only financial journalists who get to have their say making the results even more noteworthy and the prizes sweeter to receive. In contrast, last winter Headlinemoney’s entire universe of users was able to vote for the financial journalists and media outlets which they believed produced the most outstanding levels of work throughout the calendar year 2016.
With voting complete, shortlists of the top five names in each awards category were compiled. Making it on to a shortlist is no mean feat in itself. There are often dozens of names in the running before the shortlists determine the final contenders. In the journalism and media outlet categories, shortlisted names are invited to submit examples of work along with a supporting statement ready for the second phase of judging. Judging panels comprising leading financial journalists, communications experts, and senior figures from the financial services industry, then scrutinise the submissions, provide online rankings and meet face- to-face to decide the eventual winners. The judges put a great deal of effort into this process. Armed with a set of judging criteria, some create their own scoring system. Many attend the judging sessions with copious notes and strong views.
After much debate the winners are decided; they can be proud of their achievements!
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AWARDS 2017
Congratulations to all 2017 winners and finalists!
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The Judges
Adam Aiken Sue Anderson James Andrews Mark Atherton Joanne Atkin Charlotte Banks Karen Barrett Sam Barrett Becky Barrow Mark Battersby Katrina Baugh Sara Benwell Charlotte Beugge Danby Bloch Laura Blows Anna Bowes Jonathan Boyd Guy Anker
Freelance
Simon Lambert Rob Langston Eleanor Lawrie
ThisisMoney FE Trustnet
Council of Mortgage Lenders
The Mirror
ThisisMoney.co.uk / Daily Mail
MoneySavingExpert
Money Box, BBC Radio 4
Paul Lewis Dylan Lobo
The Times
Citywire Freelance
Mortgage Finance Gazette
Rita Lobo
Schroders
Employee Benefits
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Unbiased.co.uk
Daily Mail
Ruth Lythe
Freelance
Headlinemoney
Helen Macdonald
The Sunday Times
first direct
Ben Marquand Julian Marr Philip Martin
International Adviser/Last Word Media
Professional Adviser
Investment Week Good Housekeeping
Openwork
money.co.uk
Hannah Maundrell Simon McCulloch Steve McDowell Steve McGrath Dan McMillan Christine Michael Anna Mikhailova
Freelance
comparethemarket.com
Helm Godfrey
Freelance IG Group
Pensions Age and European Pensions
Savings Champion
Vitality
Open Door Media Publishing / InvestmentEurope
Freelance
The Sunday Times
Beth Brearley
Fund Strategy
moneysavingexpert.com The Sunday Times Daily Telegraph Professional Pensions
Jason Mills
Association of Investment Companies Citywire Wealth Manager
Annabel Brodie-Smith
Nina Montagu-Smith
Katie Morley
Selin Bucak
Helen Morrissey Fiona Murphy Rosie Murray-West
Freelance
Charlotte Burns Kyle Caldwell
Cover
Money Observer
Freelance Freelance
Carr Consulting & Communications
Kevin Carr Justin Cash
Helen Nugent
Money Marketing
Good with Money
Rebecca O’Connor
Freelance
James Charles Damian Clarkson Rebekah Commane James Connington
Moneywise / How to Retire in Style
Moira O’Neill
loveMONEY
Portfolio Publishing
Kevin O’Donnell Sarah O’Grady
Mortgage Strategy The Telegraph MoneyFightClub Insurance Post The Telegraph YourMoney.com FTAdviser.com Investment Week
Daily Express
Nationwide Building Society
Jill Parsons
Lindsay Cook
SavvyWoman
Sarah Pennells Tricia Phillips
Stephanie Denton
Daily Mirror / Mirror Group Newspapers
Richard Dyson
moneysupermarket.com
Kevin Pratt Simon Read
Jo Faith
Freelance Freelance
Julia Faurschou Anna Fedorova Donna Ferguson John Fitzsimons Jonathan Flint Padraig Floyd Ryan Fowler Georgie Frost Sheena Gillett Lorna Gilmour John Greenwood Sally Hamilton Felicity Hannah
Cherry Reynard Harry Rose Jenny Ross David Rowley Lynette Saunders
Which? Money Which? Money
Freelance Freelance
Freelance
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Econsultancy
Freelance
Health Insurance Daily
David Sawers Gareth Shaw
Mortgage Introducer
Which? Money
Share Radio / ThisisMoney.co.uk Wealth Management Association
MoneyWeek
Cris Sholto Heaton Jonathan Stapleton
Professional Pensions/Workplace Savings & Benefits
Scottish Widows Corporate Adviser The Mail on Sunday
John Stepek Laura Suter Jonathan Swift Malcolm Tarling Charlie Thomas Holly Thomas Owain Thomas Hannah Uttley Anna Temkin
Money Week
Telegraph Media Group
Freelance Freelance
Insurance Post / Insurance Age
Stephanie Hawthorne
ABI
Direct Line Group
Simon Henrick Jessie Hewitson
The Times (Bricks & Mortar and Money)
The Times
The Insurance Insider
Money Marketing
Natalie Holt Dan Hyde
Freelance
Money Mail
Mortgage Solutions Mortgage Solutions
Sainsbury’s Bank
Jennifer Johnston-Watt
Investment Adviser & Money Management
Dan Jones Karen Jones Madhu Kalia
HSBC UK Freelance
Oliver Wall Andy Webb Scott White
Jones Publishing (Citywealth)
Rathbones Freelance Sky News
Black to White PR
John Kenchington
The Times
Annabelle Williams Maggie Williams
Ian King
Newsquest Specialist Media/ RewardPensions Insight/Engaged Investor
FTAdviser.com
Simoney Kyriakou
Moneywise / How to Retire in Style
Ricky Willis
Skint Dad
Rachel Lacey
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We’re proud to sponsor the Mortgage Journalist of the Year awards
Good luck and congratulations from us, and our 14 million members building society, nationwide.
Nationwide Building Society. Head Office: Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon, Wiltshire SN38 1NW.
Sponsored by
AWARDS 2017
Mortgage Journalist of the Year
Winners Samantha Partington, Mortgage Solutions (B2B) & Sarah Davidson, ThisisMoney.co.uk (Consumer)
From the original shortlist of five names for the B2B category, two journalists quickly emerged as front- runners in the eyes of the judging panel with Mortgage Solutions’ Samantha Partington eventually landing the spoils. “It’s pretty clear she’s got a very decent contact book
The consumer section of this category also turned into a two- horse race from the original quintet who originally made up the shortlist with ThisisMoney.co.uk’s
Sarah Davidson securing top slot. “The two pieces on retirement and self-employed lending were both very informative and relevant to the
in this sphere. She just owned these stories,” one judge
commented. “Her story on how one big name high street lender was writing to clients six months before their mortgage term finished in a bid to try and cut out brokers was really good. Samantha drives issues forward and is very good at explaining things clearly,” a second judge added.
marketplace,” one judge pointed out. “Sarah’s stories were really well-written and by asking all the right questions she showed plenty of in-depth knowledge. I also liked her sense of campaigning and the fact rival outlets followed up the items,” another panellist commented.
The B2B Shortlist
The Consumer Shortlist
• Sam Barker, Mortgage Strategy • Ryan Bembridge, Mortgage Introducer • Rebekah Commane, Mortgage Strategy • Samantha Partington, Mortgage Solutions • Hannah Uttley, Mortgage Solutions
• Sarah Davidson, ThisisMoney.co.uk • Stephen Maunder, Which? • Hannah Nemeth, Moneywise • Francesca Steele, The Times • Paul Thomas, Money Mail
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DIRECT LINE CONGRATULATES HEADLINEMONEY’S GENERAL
INSURANCE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR.
CAN YOUR INSURANCE DO THAT?
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AWARDS 2017
General Insurance Journalist of the Year
Winners Charlie Thomas, The Insurance Insider (B2B) & Rebecca Rutt, ThisisMoney.co.uk (Consumer)
In the B2B section of this category, a pair of journalists from the original five shortlisted names emerged as front-runners from the online scoring phase. Following close deliberation by the judges, Insurance Insider’s Charlie Thomas emerged as the winner thanks in part to her ability to “demonstrate a strong contact book,
By contrast, in the consumer section of this award and with a strong quintet of entries the judges found it hard from the outset to highlight an obvious winner. After much debate Rebecca Rutt from ThisisMoney.co.uk emerged victorious for an entry which they agreed was consistently good across the board. “This
tell great stories and produce genuinely interesting articles,” according to one of the judges. “I loved Charlie’s Dubai article. Throughout her submission she did what any strong trade journalist ought to be doing which is telling her readers about things they wouldn’t necessarily have known about already,” a fellow judge remarked.
was the strongest mix of work on show and also made plenty of use of figures and graphs to bring stories to life for the reader,” one judge commented. Another concurred, adding “I really liked the Airbnb story. Rebecca’s experience shines through on items like this and also her writing has a really nice tone to it which must play well with readers.”
The B2B Shortlist
The Consumer Shortlist
• Ida Axling, Insurance Age • Michèle Bacchus, Insurance Post • Stephanie Denton, Insurance Post • Rosie Quigley, Insurance Post • Charlie Thomas, The Insurance Insider
• James Andrews, Mirror Online • Victoria Bischoff, Money Mail • Anna Jordan, loveMONEY • Amelia Murray, The Telegraph • Rebecca Rutt, ThisisMoney.co.uk
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We are proud to sponsor the Investment Journalist of the Year
From the Schroders Media Team
Beth Saint Head of Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 7658 6168
Estelle Bibby Senior PR Manager Tel: +44 (0) 20 7658 3431
Sarah Deutscher Senior International PR Manager Tel: +44 (0) 20 7658 6168 Email: sarah.deutscher@schroders.com 39
Email: beth.saint@schroders.com
Email: estelle.bibby@schroders.com
Charlotte Banks PR Manager Tel: +44 (0) 20 7658 2589
Lucy Cotter Senior International PR Exectutive Tel: +44 (0) 20 7658 3365 Email: lucy.cotter@schroders.com
Andy Pearce PR Manager Tel: +44 (0) 20 7658 2203 Email: andy.pearce@schroders.com
Email: charlotte.banks@schroders.com
www.schroders.com/global/media-centre
Issued in April 2017 by Schroder Investments Limited, 31 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QA.Registered No: 2015527 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. UK05054 RC61792 May 2017 by Sc r er I vest e ts Limite , 31 Gres a Street, L E 2 7 . e istere N : 2015527 E la . A t rise
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AWARDS 2017
Investment Journalist of the Year
Winners Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri, New Model Adviser (B2B) & Michael Trudeau, Which? Money (Consumer)
Preliminary scores suggested the B2B section of this award would be a close- run thing and it was only once the judges met face-to-face and following some intensive discussions that New Model Adviser’s Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri emerged triumphant. “Sunil made proper analytical use of data both to provide back-
By contrast, the preliminary scores for the consumer section of this award already indicated a wide degree of agreement amongst the judges. By the time they had finished their discussions they were unanimous that Which? Money’s Michael Trudeau was the worthy winner. “The three pieces Michael submitted
up to stories and also to challenge assertions,” one of the judges commented. “Shunil’s submissions were interesting and included different angles which are so important when it comes to writing for a professional audience. What’s more the overall writing style comes across as really knowledgeable,” a fellow judge added.
were diversified, punchy and had plenty of impact,” one judge suggested. “This is probably the most impressive all-round set of submissions I’ve ever seen in this category. Each piece offers excellent research and the ‘IFAs misleading on credentials’ story was as good a news piece as I’ve seen in this sector. Michael’s a top all-rounder with great journalist instincts, plus laudable patience,” another added.
The B2B Shortlist
The Consumer Shortlist
• David Baxter, Investment Adviser • Katherine Denham, FTAdviser.com
• Mark Atherton, The Times • Kyle Caldwell, Money Observer • James Connington, The Telegraph • Moira O’Neill, Moneywise • Michael Trudeau, Which? Money
• Taha Lokhandwala, Investment Adviser • Valentina Romeo, Money Marketing • Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri, New Model Adviser
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AWARDS 2017
Financial Health and Life Insurance Journalist of the Year
Winners Simoney Kyriakou, FTAdviser.com (B2B) & Harvey Jones, Daily/ Sunday Express (Consumer)
In FTAdviser.com’s Simoney Kyriakou, a clear favourite emerged once the
It was a close-run thing in the consumer element of this awards category with Harvey Jones’s submissions, which appeared in both the Daily and Sunday Express, eventually emerging triumphant. “These were really interesting and engaging pieces which were well explained for people who obviously won’t be experts in a
online scoring element had been completed in the B2B section of this category. What’s more, there was no changing the judges’ minds when they sat down to discuss the chances of all the journalists on this year’s shortlist. “By submitting several fabulous, interesting
sphere which can come across as complicated and confusing,” one judge suggested. “There were plenty of good points included in Harvey’s submissions and the stories were backed up by independent views. He doesn’t have much space to work with, but he has a talent for packing in as much information as possible for readers,” a second judge remarked.
articles Simoney is head and shoulders above her shortlisted rivals this year,” one of the panellists pointed out. A second judge could only concur adding: “there was in-depth analysis throughout, good balance and great sources. The insights presented are really interesting and revealing.”
The B2B Shortlist
The Consumer Shortlist
• Sam Barrett, Freelance • Harvey Jones, Freelance – for his work on Health Insurance Daily
• James Andrews, Mirror Online • Sam Barrett, Freelance • John Fitzsimons, Freelance • Harvey Jones, Daily/Sunday Express • Olivia Rudgard, The Telegraph
• Simoney Kyriakou, FTAdviser.com • Fiona Murphy, COVER Magazine
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SUPPORTING
AWARDS HEADLINEMONEY THIS YEAR’S
Scottish Widows is proud to sponsor the Consumer and B2B Pensions Journalist of the Year awards at tonight’s Headlinemoney Awards.
changeyourlifeinanhour.co.uk
Scottish Widows Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 3196171. Registered office in the United Kingdom at 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Financial Services Register number 181655. 26467 04/17
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AWARDS 2017
Pensions Journalist of the Year
Winners John Greenwood, Corporate Adviser (B2B) & Josephine Cumbo, Financial Times (Consumer)
Last year’s winner in the B2B section of this category, Corporate Adviser’s John Greenwood, made it back-to-back victories with a submission which was already ranked in first place by the time the judges sat down to scrutinise the entries face-to- face. “John always comes across as an authoritative journalist in a sphere of coverage
Initially, things were a little less clear-cut in the consumer section of this award as the judges had two of the five shortlisted journalists a little way ahead of the pack. After some in-depth discussion, Financial Times who emerged as this year’s winner. “Josephine is a worthy winner – she submitted three really it was Josephine Cumbo from the
where you’ve got to know your subject inside-out,” one judge commented. “Like any decent journalist, his submissions demonstrate he goes to several sources and then produces a balanced view. He produces detailed analysis of a certain subject and, frankly, I think he’s head and shoulders above the other entries this year,” a second panellist remarked.
strong entries including one which I simply hadn’t seen discussed anywhere else which homed in on particular issues surrounding the NHS, to one about cashing in final salary pensions,’ one judge commented. “Josephine is the FT’s pensions correspondent so her stories ought to be on point and indeed they were. There was a good sense of research and she was also able to tell me things I didn’t know already. That’s always a winning formula,” another judge suggested.
The B2B Shortlist
The Consumer Shortlist
• James Fernyhough, FTAdviser.com • Jack Gilbert, New Model Adviser • John Greenwood, Corporate Adviser • Stephanie Hawthorne, Freelance – for her work on Pensions World • Nick Reeve, Investment & Pensions Europe
• Sam Brodbeck, Daily & Sunday Telegraph • Josephine Cumbo, Financial Times • Ruth Emery, The Sunday Times • Rachel Lacey, How to Retire in Style/Moneywise • Ruth Lythe, Daily Mail
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AWARDS 2017
Savings Journalist of the Year
Winner Joanna Faith, YourMoney.com
The first of two new awards categories for 2017, this one reflecting the current and rather depressed state of affairs whereby savers are suffering against a backdrop of chronically low interest rates. Such individuals are in need of as much informed guidance as they can lay their hands on from the financial press when it comes to getting their money to work as hard as possible for them. After the first phase of preliminary scoring, there was still all to play for amongst the quartet of contenders in this category. Following further discussion, the four names were pared down to two and eventually it was Your Money’s Joanna Faith who emerged as the winner. “Joanna’s piece on children’s savings stood out for me. It was well-researched, comprehensive and just a really good read,” one judge commented. “This is a new and welcome award for 2017 and I think Joanna’s submissions fit the brief perfectly. Her submissions were strong and provided essential guidance for readers who find it a struggle to try and eke out any sort of returns on their hard-earned money,” another panellist pointed out.
The Shortlist
• Lee Boyce, ThisisMoney.co.uk
• Joanna Faith, YourMoney.com
• Sylvia Morris, Daily Mail
• Reena Sewraz, loveMONEY
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AWARDS 2017
Rising Star of the Year (B2B)
Winner Jack Gilbert, New Model Adviser
This category, with its onus on showcasing the best of the youngest talent doing the B2B rounds on the UK’s financial journalism circuit, is often a springboard to bigger and better things for the winning journalist. From the outset, in the opinion of the judges two of the five names on the shortlist pulled a little way clear of their rivals and in the end it was New Model Adviser’s Jack Gilbert who scooped the overall honours. “I liked Jack’s submissions which demonstrated a good investigative approach to reporting – no mean feat for someone relatively new to covering as complicated an industry as the financial services marketplace,” one judge commented. “Here is a journalist who is full of potential and whose writing style will doubtless blossom further with time,” a second judge remarked. “Jack may be reasonably new to the beat, but he’s already squeezing his contact book to the max, a characteristic which is so important if you’re going to do a great job covering this sector for a clued-up and professional readership,” a third panellist pointed out.
The Shortlist • Christine Dawson, New Model Adviser • James Fernyhough, FTAdviser.com • Jack Gilbert, New Model Adviser • Jonathan Jones, FE Trustnet • Kuba Shand-Baptiste, Money Management
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Proudly supporting tomorrow’s talent Congratulations to all Headlinemoney Awards 2017 winners and nominees
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AWARDS 2017
Rising Star of the Year (Consumer)
Winner Paul Thomas, Money Mail
There was a close three-way scrap at the top of the leader board after the initial set of scores from the judges were processed in this category. Once they met face-to-face to discuss the contenders it didn’t take long for the panellists to name the Daily Mail’s Paul Thomas as the overall winner. “Paul clearly knows his patch extremely well. He writes with authority and his writing tone is perfect for his audience. The submissions included a courageous piece on life insurance which actually extracted a big result in favour of a reader,” one judge commented. “Paul has clearly made the transition really successfully from the B2B press and having a specialist knowledge about one particular product area like mortgages, to covering a far wider range of subjects and yet doing so in a seemingly effortless manner,” another judge suggested. “I liked the diversity of the submissions from a look at student buy-to- lets to a piece about the City regulator. They all had the hallmark of a journalist who was keen to dig away at the issues on behalf of his readers,” a third panellist added.
The Shortlist • Sara Benwell, Good Housekeeping • Marina Gerner, Money Observer • Olivia Rudgard, The Telegraph • Paul Thomas, Money Mail • Lauren Weymouth, loveMONEY
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AWARDS 2017
Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year
Winner Aviva with Instinctif Partners
Family Finances Report - summer 2016: ‘Generation Regret’ This much sought- after awards category was introduced for the first time last year. For 2017 the trophy was made into a self- nominated category and attracted great interest from financial services providers who supplied dozens of entries.
Highly Commended
Hermes Investment Management Responsible Capitalism and our Society series Rathbones ‘If you leave me now’: exploring the implications of Brexit for the UK economy and markets
The Shortlist
• Aviva, with Instinctif Partners, for Family Finances Report – summer 2016: ‘Generation Regret’ • Henderson Global Investors for The Henderson Global Dividend Index • Hermes Investment Management for Responsible Capitalism and our society series • MoneySuperMarket for Burglary Hotspots • Rathbones for ‘If you leave me now’: Exploring the implications of Brexit for the UK economy and markets • Royal London for Policy Paper Series and ‘good with your money’ guides • Santander for Future of Housing in Britain • Scottish Friendly for Scottish Friendly Disposable Income Index • Scottish Widows for The Centre for the Modern Family: The Future of Families • SunLife for The Cost of Dying • The Share Centre for The Profit Watch UK report • TSB Bank for Competition Matters
Following the nominations phase, Headlinemoney ran a month-long vote at the end of 2016 amongst the financial journalist community. This was followed by a shortlisting process, where a panel of experienced judges drawn from financial services media ultimately determined the overall winner. Congratulations go to Aviva for scooping this inaugural trophy with its Family Finances Report from last summer entitled Generation Regret. “This was a brilliant report, it was really useful,” one journalist commented. “It was a campaign with great potential and tackled the issue of the moment,” added another. “As far as I could see, it was the first report to articulate a fundamental link between housing wealth, pension saving and retirement,” a third correspondent pointed out.
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AWARDS 2017
Expert of the Year
Winner Tom McPhail, Hargreaves Lansdown
Congratulations to Tom McPhail, head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, for being crowned this year’s expert of the year as nominated by the UK’s financial journalist community – always a tough- to-please crowd. Tom is Hargreaves Lansdown’s lead commentator on pensions and retirement planning, as well as being responsible for savings and regulatory policy issues. “Tom’s insight is without comparison and not only that he is usually first off the mark with helpful comments on every conceivable announcement and development in the world of pensions,” one magazine editor pointed out. “In a year when pensions has been at the top of the agenda, Tom has been there responding rapidly to events, providing early guidance on the key elements of a particular topic, and giving generously of his time to explain even the most complicated of retirement planning subjects,” a senior newspaper personal finance correspondent added.
Highly Commended Anna Bowes, Savings Champion
The Shortlist
• Anna Bowes, Savings Champion • David Hollingworth, London & Country Mortgages • Adrian Lowcock, Architas • Tom McPhail, Hargreaves Lansdown • Mike Morrison, AJ Bell
Commiserations to Anna who just failed to land top slot in this category. She had plenty of supporters, for example, the journalist who wrote “Anna is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to savings and freely rattles off what she knows at will. Best of all, she actually cares what she is talking about.”
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AWARDS 2017
Rising Star of the Year
Winner Martyn John, Gocompare.com
Congratulations to Martyn John who is this year’s winner in Headlinemoney’s PR rising star category. Martyn has been managing PR campaigns, budgets and day-to-day press office operations since 2013 with a particular focus on media and influencer relations. He says he enjoys creating integrated campaigns that mix traditional PR with social media and content creation to earn cross-platform coverage. “Martyn has built an easy-going relationship with the media and is always swift to answer queries without being bothersome!” one personal financial journalist from a leading national newspaper money section commented at the nomination stage. “He’s just fab,” added another online money correspondent.
Highly Commended Lucy Forgan, Neptune Investment Management Neptune Investment Management’s head of PR, Lucy Forgan, found just one rival too strong for her in this year’s rising star category, but she still garnered plenty of support from the journalists who voted for this award. “Lucy’s a brilliant PR who is informed, efficient and at the top of her game,” one correspondent noted. “If other fund management firms need a steer when it comes to recruiting a head of PR they need look no further than Lucy,” another journalist suggested.
The Shortlist
• Talisker Donahue, Infinite Global
• Lucy Forgan, Neptune Investment Management
• Martyn John, Gocompare.com
• Sara Neidle, Newgate Communications
• Jamie Till, Instinctif
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AWARDS 2017
PR Professional of the Year
Winner Victoria Leyton, for her work at Quidco and VoucherCodes.co.uk
Congratulations to Victoria Leyton who improves on her performance from 2016 and lands this coveted trophy having been shortlisted for the honour in 2016. Victoria describes herself as an “ambitious and original PR with big brand financial experience and a flair for uncovering news value in the most unlikely of subjects”. What’s more, she has plenty of supporters in the UK’s financial journalism community. “Victoria is utterly brilliant. So helpful and always quick. She has a really deep understanding of the story behind the headlines and therefore what we need from her spokespeople,” one journalist commented. “She is a pleasure to work with. Friendly, professional and a great ambassador for whoever it is she is representing,” a second journalist added.
Highly Commended Madhu Kalia, Rathbones
The Shortlist
• Charlotte Banks, Schroders • Lora Coventry, Liontrust • Chris Dowsett, NS&I • Madhu Kalia, Rathbones • Victoria Leyton, for her work at Quidco and VoucherCodes.co.uk
Commiserations to Madhu who found just one rival too good for her in this year’s category. Journalists were glowing about her abilities. “Madhu puts enormous amounts of effort into her relationships with journalists taking time to catch up regularly with key contacts,” one journalist wrote. “Her comments and suggestions are always relevant and thoughtful. Madhu’s also mindful of the journalist’s lot of being continually on deadline,” a second correspondent added.
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Advice
Ideas
Results
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AWARDS 2017
In-house Press Team of the Year
Winner Aviva
This is the second year Headlinemoney has asked financial journalists of all backgrounds (consumer and B2B) to vote collectively for the outstanding in-house press team working within either a financial service company or organisation. As always, the competition was extremely fierce. So it’s a case of many congratulations to the team from Aviva which came out on top. “I can trust the team to get back to me and to do so in good time. They demonstrate high standards and are both proactive with ideas and reliably reactive to queries as well,” one journalist commented. “They always go the extra mile to try and help you when you are in a tight spot. What’s more, in the communications process, they rarely put a foot wrong across any of their product lines,” a second journalist added.
Highly Commended Hermes Investment Management
The Shortlist
• Aviva
While they may not have secured top honours again this year, there was still plenty of love for the Hermes Investment Management team from the financial journalist community. “They are always helpful and upbeat and try to make things happen for you. They also work hard to get back to you within deadline,” one journalist pointed out. “They pull off the near-unique trick of being both charming and friendly and efficient and useful!” a second journalist commented.
• Hermes Investment Management
• Royal London
• Scottish Widows
• The Association of Investment Companies
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AWARDS 2017
PR Agency of the Year
Winner Quill PR
This is the first year that the Headlinemoney awards has created a standalone category to recognise and celebrate the best external PR agency working on behalf of financial services clients. As usual, it is the financial journalist community alone that voted in this category. To emerge top of a competitive pile is no mean feat. For 2017 many congratulations go to inaugural winner, Quill PR, whose expertise spans financial services from traditional wealth advisers to alternative asset managers, investment boutiques, friendly societies and life assurers. With an average of 15 years’ experience across the team, Quill’s deep industry knowledge means it boasts an extensive network of contacts across all media channels. “Quill have a great knowledge of their clients so are a source of information themselves. They are very pro-active about getting you access to the right people quickly. They are also professional and friendly and keep you very well updated on their clients,” one journalist commented. “In my experience, the team has been very active in coming up with interesting ideas for stories as well as working in a timely manner, answering questions and actively setting up meetings,” another correspondent pointed out. “They are the acceptable face of financial PR. I don’t say that very often,” a third journalist remarked.
Highly Commended Lansons
The Shortlist
• Camarco
Commiserations to Lansons who just failed by one place to land top honours in this year’s PR agency award. From the supporting comments submitted by journalists during the nominations process, there was plenty of admiration for the firm. “They are professional, knowledgeable and painstaking in their approach on behalf of clients,” one senior financial journalist said. “The firm is as creative and innovative today as it was when it was launched three decades ago,” another pointed out.
• FTI Consulting
• Lansons
• MRM
• Quill PR
AWARDS 2017
Outstanding Achievement Award
Winner Stephanie Hawthorne
Now in its eighth year, Headlinemoney’s outstanding achievement award is bestowed on an individual in recognition of an exceptional contribution made by that person while working as part of the financial services media. This year’s recipient is award-winning financial journalist Stephanie Hawthorne, a household name amongst the UK’s pensions professionals having been, until April 2017, the longstanding editor of Pensions World, a title which she joined back in 1989. The subscription-based title closed this Spring having been a mainstay of the pensions press for 45 years enjoyed by pension managers, scheme trustees, corporate IFAs and employee benefits consultants. In an interview, Stephanie once said that on joining Pensions World she nearly never joined the company pension scheme because she never thought she was going to stay very long in an area regarded by many as a quiet backwater.
Of course, over the last 30 years or so this ‘quiet backwater’ has turned into one of the most exciting areas of all types of financial journalism with scandals such as Maxwell and Equitable Life to contend with, plus pensions mis-selling and not to mention the screeds of new pensions laws that have come into force. Whether it’s the political implications of the triple- lock, or the knock-on to a workforce when a major employer’s company pension suffers from a major event, pensions are never far nowadays from the general news headlines, let alone the ones which appear in specialist publications. Stephanie’s reporting on pensions has long been regarded as fair, insightful and balanced. The magazine she ran was regarded as one of the best of its type and for these reasons combined she wins Headlinemoney’s special annual award.
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AWARDS 2017
Household Money Journalist of the Year
Winner Paloma Kubiak, YourMoney.com
The preliminary scores for this category suggested that three of the five journalists on the shortlist in this category had every chance of fighting it out for top honours. During the face-to-face judging session itself, lovemoney. com’s Paloma Kubiak emerged as the winner thanks to a strong all-round submission featuring interesting subjects close to the heart of both judges and consumers. “For me the standout piece was the one on car insurance, it was brilliant and original and unearthed some really interesting findings,” one judge commented. “I liked the car insurance item as well, it was full of insights. What’s more, I like the way Paloma goes about doing research to back up her stories and this came to the fore in the piece on estate agents,” a second judge pointed out. “When someone is covering the subject of household money, what you want as a reader is a combination of interesting pointers and information you can trust so you can go about tackling your own financial affairs. Paloma definitely delivered on this front,” a third judge remarked.
The Shortlist • Tara Evans, The Sun Online • Anna Jordan, loveMONEY • Helen Knapman, Moneywise • Paloma Kubiak, YourMoney.com • Tricia Phillips, Daily Mirror
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AWARDS 2017
Financial Blog of the Year
Winner BeCleverWithYourCash.com, Andy Webb
As you might imagine, the financial blogosphere is a diverse space nowadays with both professional and amateur commentators alike offering their views on everything from global macroeconomics to how best to save money on the weekly supermarket run. Once the judges had delivered their initial sets of scores and then sat down to discuss the merits of the names on this year’s shortlist, the original five names on the shortlist were soon whittled down to three. After some intensive, debate it was Andy Webb and his BeCleverWithYourCash blog who emerged triumphant. Andy’s blog hit the crossbar in this category last year and this time round did more than enough to convince the judges of its merits. “Andy’s blog offers great ideas that are well executed. He comes up with common sense insights that still have the capacity to make you think ‘ooh yeah, good point’,” one judge commented. “I originally had this category down as being between two contenders. BeCleverWithYourCash has the edge because it is consistent throughout, knows its niche and does a really good job. It also manages to avoid the laziness trap, which some money blogs fall into, of appearing to be consumer-orientated only for its content to be steeped in financial jargon as if every reader was already an expert,” another judge pointed out.
The Shortlist
• BeCleverWithYourCash.com • LottyEarns.co.uk • Spectator Money blog • TheComplainingCow.co.uk • YoungMoneyBlog.co.uk
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AWARDS 2017
Consumer Champion of the Year
Winner Jill Insley, The Sunday Times
This category is always hard-fought and the 2017 version was no exception. Following the initial round of scoring, Jill Insley’s weekly Question of Money column for The Sunday Times was lying in pole position. By the time the face-to-face discussions had concluded her position at the head of affairs had become even more cemented. “I really like the way she takes complex issues and makes them accessible. What’s more her letters are interesting, too. For example, in her submission I was struck by the one about the soldier and also the one involving the endowment. The latter was not only fascinating but must have been loads of work to sort out,” one judge commented. “Jill’s submission combined the optimum mix of principal qualities from what I would define as a worthy winner in this category: really well-written content; genuinely interesting financial tales from which we could all learn; and successful outcomes for the individuals concerned,” a third judge pointed out.
The Shortlist
• Lindsay Cook, FT, Share Radio and Money Fight Club • Jessica Gorst-Williams, The Telegraph
• Jill Insley, The Sunday Times • Hannah Nemeth, Moneywise • Laura Whateley, The Times
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AWARDS 2017
Financial Commentator of the Year
Winner Claer Barrett, Financial Times
Each year, the bulk of the names making up Headlinemoney’s judging panels are drawn from the financial journalist community with the balance being senior financial services professionals drawn from other parts of the media and beyond. As you might imagine, coming from different parts of the industry it’s rare for the judges to agree on everything from the first moment of a judging session. There is usually a period of cogitation, reflection and debate as each individual considers the views of his/her fellow judges before ultimately feeding in to a panel decision. However, in 2017 the financial commentator discussion was one of the shortest in history with the judging panel unanimously agreed on their idea of the winner within a fewminutes of sitting down. The Financial Times’ Claer Barrett landed the same trophy in 2016 and made it back-to-back wins in 2017 with three submissions which had the judges in total agreement from the outset. “These were three really interesting pieces, from help-to-buy to student loans, to women being turned off to financial services advertising and they each hit the spot,” one judge commented. “Claer’s submissions were superbly written and each made a telling point prompting the reader to sit up and think seriously about the financial matter in hand,” a second judge added. “I think it would probably be fair to say that Claer is the most populist-orientated individual ever to hold the money editor role at the FT. She’s using her position to confront some telling issues in her commentary pieces,” a third judge remarked.
The Shortlist • Claer Barrett, Financial Times • Ian Cowie, The Sunday Times • Dan Hyde, Money Mail • Merryn Somerset Webb, MoneyWeek/FT • John Stepek, Money Week
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AWARDS 2017
Freelance Journalist of the Year
Winner Donna Ferguson
Lifting the mantle of the UK’s best freelance journalist when it comes to covering financial services is no mean feat. As usual, the shortlist featured a strong line-up of contenders and once the preliminary scores had been processed there were still four names pitching in with every chance of winning from the original five journalists. Further whittling down of the list was a tough call for the judges, but after much debate they agreed it was Donna Ferguson who had done enough to land the spoils. “For me, freelancers are those journalists who commissioning editors want on their side; writers in whom they are able to place their trust. Donna falls into that category and consistently turns out lively, well-written pieces,” one judge commented. “She’s an excellent freelancer who turns out fantastic pieces which, depending on the brief, are original, investigative and full of advice,” another judge pointed out. “Donna tells you stuff you didn’t know already and does so in a punchy, accessible way,” a third panellist remarked.
The Shortlist
• Donna Ferguson • Adam Lewis • Michelle McGagh • Emily Perryman • Marc Shoffman
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AWARDS 2017
Consumer Money Journalist of the Year
Winner Rob Goodman, Which? Money/Which?
This category often features a quintet of names with high-calibre submissions across the board and the shortlist of contenders for the 2017 version did not disappoint making the efforts of the winner all the more commendable. By the end of the first round of scoring, the judges were focusing on a pair of names from which the eventual winner was most likely to emerge. After much analysis, the panel decided the spoils should go to Rob Goodman for his work on Which? Money and Which? “Rob’s submissions contained some big pieces with lots of news interest, plenty of research and good graphics,” one judge commented. “There is a high level of consistency to Rob’s work and what’s more he also manages to incorporate great graphics and charts into his features. Money journalists ought to adopt this default position as a matter of course, but it’s amazing those that don’t,” a second judge pointed out. “I liked the angle he took on individual savings accounts. It was a departure from what can often produce some pretty well-worn themes. There was good use of data alongside the main thrust of his piece about post offices and financial services,” a third panellist remarked.
The Shortlist
• Mark Atherton, The Times • Rob Goodman, Which? Money/Which? • Ali Hussain, The Sunday Times • Ruth Lythe, Daily Mail • Annabelle Williams, The Times
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AWARDS 2017
Financial B2B Journalist of the Year
Winner Jack Gilbert, New Model Adviser
As several former recipients of this award can testify, a win in this category can help leapfrog a financial journalist’s future standing within financial services media to even bigger and better things. This year, the preliminary scores had four journalists from the original list of five in with a chance of landing the eventual spoils. But once the judges sat down for the formal judging session, it soon became clear that the title was going to be awarded one of two ways. After much consideration, it was New Model Adviser’s Jack Gilbert who got his nose in front. “Jack’s submissions contained some really strong stories; he’s properly working his contact book. For someone who I believe is towards the start of his career in financial journalism there’s already a maturity in his writing style which will stand him good stead for years to come,” one judge commented. “Jack’s already demonstrating the much sought- after traits of a very decent investigative journalist,” a second judge added. This year, eagle-eyed readers of this book of the night will notice the traditional runner-up or ‘highly commended’ slot has been dispensed with as part of the journalism awards for 2017. However, the judges felt they had to make an exception for Insurance Post’s Martin Croucher who missed out on top slot in this category by the narrowest of margins. “I’m a big fan of Martin’s submission and we can’t let his efforts go unrecognised. In any other year it would have been the standout entry,” one judge pointed out.
Highly Commended Martin Croucher, Insurance Post
The Shortlist • Martin Croucher, Insurance Post • Jack Gilbert, New Model Adviser • Dan Jones, Investment Adviser/Money Management • Laura Miller, FTAdviser.com/Financial Adviser • Gary Shepherd, Portfolio Adviser
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