Most purported financial journalism is just advertising, held together on the page with reheated topics and lazy copy.
And an awful lot of that lazy copy (or “financial porn”) is designed to titillate, to sow seeds of doubt, or to get the reader to take action of some sort. Invariably these urges - if acted upon - do more harm than good.
Then, sometimes, you read something that is not so much financial porn as plain baffling. So it was with a recent article from Mark Dampier of Hargreaves Lansdown. For the record, I think this brand is fabulous; not so much for what they do but how they do it: the marketing, website and whole “customer experience” is second to none.
Mr Dampier’s article began by saying how investors have had an uneasy ride since the financial crisis of 2007-9.
To which I thought: “Say what?!” Watch this BAFTA nominated video to find out why: it only runs for a few minutes (though you may think it feels longer).
What should you take out from this?
In essence, when it comes to financial services. do not take things at face value: challenge; question; interrogate. If you do not wish to do this yourself then get a financial planner to do it for you.
