In January 1989, slightly more than a year after Black Monday laid waste to global stock markets, a new newspaper boldly poked its head above the ground.
Investment Executive (IE) was the creation of forward-thinking journalists and others at the Financial Times of Canada who saw a pressing need for a newspaper aimed at the growing number of investment-industry professionals.
As noted by David Tafler, president of Financial Times Group, in IE‘s first issue: “These are the people Investment Executive is aimed at: the professionals who today face an increasing number of products, regulations and pressures to produce in a marketplace where the major players seem to change almost monthly.”
Although markets went on to recover from Black Monday fairly quickly, conditions were uncertain when IE appeared on the scene. At the time, many people were fearful that a major recession would take hold.
IE‘s first cover story reflected the tension of the times. The headline was “How top brokers are beating the bear market.” The story chronicled the 35% drop in the dollar value of trading on Canada’s major exchanges in the first 11 months of 1988, and the layoffs and branch closures in the brokerage business. Barnaby Ross, then a broker with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in Toronto, said it all: “It’s tougher than hell out there.”
Many more challenges – and opportunities – came as the years unfolded, and IE stayed true to its mission of serving the needs of financial advisors through the booms and busts.
Today, the financial services arena is drastically different – and far more complex – than it was in 1989. Rules that confined financial services businesses to separate silos have been reformed, regulation has grown in scope and technology is revolutionizing the financial advice-giving business. The client/advisor relationship is under the microscope as never before, with a wave of new rules changing the dynamics of that crucial connection. And with the average age of advisors climbing, succession planning issues are of great concern.
Given the growing complexity and the speed of change in the investment business, advisors’ need for information and advice is greater than ever. To meet that need, we consistently have expanded the scope and sophistication of our services.
Today, IE offers a multi-platform experience. The newspaper is published 16 times annually – a big increase from the nine issues we published at the outset. We produce several special-interest magazines on a timely basis and have a robust website that carries news and features, as well as video content. We create and host several free webinars throughout the year, each attracting financial advisors by the hundreds. And IE will be available on your tablet within a matter of weeks.
The success if IE is founded upon the passion and plain, old hard work of a wide range of people. On the occasion of our 25th anniversary, we’d be remiss in not recognizing the contributions of the publishers and journalists who guided IE from its beginning as part of the Financial Times Group, through the choppy waters as an independent publication and to the present day. IE now is part of the large and growing TC Media family. And, of course, we simply would not have survived without the diligent work of advertising specialists and the support of many financial services companies and advisors from our first day of publication.
But let’s not forget you, our readers. We are grateful for your support and loyalty in our first quarter-century. And we look forward to serving you as best we can in the next 25 years – and beyond.
Ozy Camacho, group publisher
Tracy LeMay, editor-in-chief
© 2014 Investment Executive. All rights reserved.