Goodbye and good luck!
30th June 2022 09:26
by Moira O'Neill from interactive investor
Our outgoing head of personal finance Moira O'Neill reflects on her interactive investor highlights.
It’s the end of an era for me today as I leave interactive investor to forge a freelance career, going back to my journalism roots which have spanned most of my career (25 years, showing my age!).
Epic is a good word to describe the journey of the past 4.5 years: transforming the editorial team to deliver top-quality multimedia content to help investors make the best decisions, while using our data and expertise to campaign for retail investor’s rights, shine a light on shareholder democracy, and promote financial education in schools. We’ve also done a lot to help investors navigate the world of sustainable investments, not least with our rated list, ACE 40.
There have been so many highlights it’s difficult to choose, but here are a few:
Our Great British Retirement Survey, in collaboration with Moneywise, launched in 2019 at the House of Lords. We were astounded to get more than 12,000 responses, making it the largest survey of its kind, shining light on our retirement worries, realities, and dreams.
The Personal Finance Teacher of the Year Awards has grown in strength and visibility every year. I relaunched this in 2017 as editor of Moneywise and brought it over to ii. There’s still time to enter the 2022 competition so please spread the word.
We introduced the ii Private Investor Index, promising to show performance of retail investors warts and all, through different markets. And I was proud to oversee the launch of two rated investment lists – the Super 60 and its ethical/sustainable cousin, the ACE 40 – the latter being not an easy feat in the shadow of the Woodford scandal.
It was no surprise to see increased multimedia, particularly video, resonating well with investors. Key initiatives include the launch of the ii Family Money Show, hosted by Gabby Logan, Ask ii and some incredible fund manager interviews. We’ve also dipped our toes into the world of animated infographics with great ambitions in this area. Our interactive Fund Manager Fiight Club events were cut short by the pandemic but I look forward to seeing the team revive these.
It would be great to see the rest of the investment industry embracing the messaging and educational power of podcasts, video and animation.
What a team! Brimming with creativity and energy alongside their expert knowledge and wisdom.
A big shout out to Lee Wild, Jemma Jackson, Dzmitry Lipski, Richard Hunter, Scott Walker, Rebecca O’Connor, Victoria Scholar, Kyle Caldwell and Myron Jobson. I’m sad to leave them but excited about what lies ahead.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Â Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. Â The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.