By ROBIN POWELL
It was five years ago that I recognised the need for a place for people to go for high-quality, independent investment journalism and founded The Evidence-Based Investor. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved in that time.
I hear all the time from people who’ve benefited from what we’ve written.
“A beacon”
“You are a beacon of honesty and integrity,” wrote a doctor in Massachusetts the other day, when asking to be put in touch with an evidence-based adviser to help him and his wife to plan for retirement.
“I’m an investment banker,” another reader wrote. “Having followed your blog, I’ve been converted to the evidence-based approach. I’m now setting up my own advice firm so I can start adding value for consumers rather than subtracting it.”
“I just want to thank you for warning me about the shortcomings of active management,” wrote a financial journalist on a UK national newspaper. “I persuaded my girlfriend to take her money out of the Woodford Equity Income fund before it bombed and put it in a tracker.”
And another message this morning from an adviser in the Seychelles: “Continue your alpha work!”. I could go on.
The need has never been greater
Clearly we live in one of the most challenging periods in recent history. The need for independent investment journalism has arguably never been greater than it is today.
But it needs paying for.
I don’t get paid for the time I spend working on the blog. All the running costs — travel, filming, editing, freelance commissions, website maintenance and so on — are paid for out of my own pocket.
Over the years we’ve resisted several lucrative approaches because they would create a conflict of interest. We’ve done this because conflicts mean that consumers don’t always get to hear what they need to hear.
Good journalism is conflict-free. It’s printing what someone doesn’t want printed.
How is TEBI paid for?
At the beginning of 2019, we invited a number of evidence-based financial advice firms to come on board as strategic partners. I’m hugely grateful to Bloomsbury Wealth and Sparrows Capital in the UK, PFP Financial Services in Ireland and AES International in the UAE.
Their generous sponsorship has enabled us to step up the volume of content we produce. We now post virtually every day, including weekends.
To maintain this level of content, however, we need more support.
What you can do
If you would like to make a donation — either a one-off or a regular payment — it would be hugely appreciated. We now have a Donate button on the main menu.
I would also love to hear from evidence-based advice firms and other like-minded businesses that want to support our investment journalism.
We have capacity for more strategic partnerships, particularly with firms in North America, Australasia and former British territories like Hong Kong and Singapore. There are also opportunities to sponsor our sister blog for financial advisers, Adviser 2.0.
Another way that advice firms can help is by ordering content from my colleagues at Regis Media.
We have a number of animated financial education videos series that can be rebranded, a range of regular subscriptions to videos and articles, and a social media management service as well.
We currently have a special offer on Stay the Course — a package of five videos and five articles explaining the importance of sticking to your investment plan in worrying times such as these.
Thank you for your support
Thank you for all your positive feedback and your messages of good will. Every such message is hugely appreciated.
Between us we can, and will, create a fairer, more transparent investing industry.
To donate, click here.
Picture: Andrew Neel on Unsplash
