MoneyWeek

“MoneyWeek is the champion of the independent investor.” At Gorkana’s latest media briefing, MoneyWeek editor-in-chief and Financial Times columnist Merryn Somerset Webb said the biggest mistake people make with their personal finances is not to engage with them. She revealed to a packed out audience of PRs what proves most popular with her readers and how best they should pitch to her team.

MoneyWeek, through its weekly print title and website, gives insight into personal finance, collecting information from the world’s press and commenting on trends in the financial world.

Regular content in the title includes investment recommendations for personal portfolios – from rising-star tech companies to the best dividend payers on the FTSE 100 – as well as market updates, property analysis and in-depth personal finance guides for pensions, taxes and ISAs.

As well as editor-in-chief of MoneyWeek, Merryn is a freelance journalist, writing a regular column for the Financial Times, Saga and is author of Love is Not Enough – The Smart Woman’s Guide to Making (and Keeping) Money, a book showing how women can take control of their finances.

MoneyWeek’s editor-in-chief, Merryn Somerset Webb, with Gorkana’s head of news and content, Philip Smith

Here are just a few top tips that Merryn revealed at the media briefing, which took place on Tuesday 16 May at the Regent Street Cinema in London.

Readers

The MoneyWeek audience is mainly made up of individual investors, who are cash rich and time poor. Some 89% of its readers are male (between 35 and 64-years-old) and more than 17% of the overall readership are at board director level. Merryn thinks PRs would be surprised just how many non-London-based entrepreneurs read the title.

Most read pages

MoneyWeek readers love to read about property, especially around buy-to-let issues. MoneyWeek has a lot of buy-to-let investors, who read the magazine. The most read pages every week will be the double page spread on houses. Pension stories also prove very popular, especially around the changes in regulation.

Pitching to the team

Most PR pitches Merryn reads are used opportunistically when searching for a specific topic or randomly when scrolling through her inbox and something peaks her interest. Try to be personal when emailing and remind her if you’ve discussed what you’re pitching about beforehand.

If she hasn’t replied to your email (never phone!) within two hours, she never will. She doesn’t mind an email being sent again, but don’t send it more than three times. Press day is Wednesday. The best time to pitch is between Thursday and Monday morning.

When and who to contact

Issues around the markets should be sent to Andrew Van Sickle, personal finance pitches goes to Sarah Moore, and politics stories should go to Matthew Partridge. Stories with strong statistics or interesting numbers should go to Chris Carter or Ben Judge, anything on cars, books or motorbikes should be sent to Stuart Watkins, and investment strategy stories should go to John Stepek or Chris Heaton. “Anything really, really interesting should come to me,” says Merryn.

Full contact details can be found on the Gorkana Media Database.

Gorkana’s media briefing with Money Week took place on Tuesday 16 May at the Regent Street Cinema in London