What are the main beats you cover?

I primarily cover the world of IFAs, nationals and networks – so I write a lot about consolidation, deals, and what the companies in this space are up to. I also cover quite a bit of adviser tech stuff because I find it super interesting. And I’m interested in the behavioural side of financial planning. My other potential career option was criminal psychologist. I think the way the mind works is really interesting, and I’m fascinated by psychopaths. Not that I’m saying anyone in the financial planning profession is a psychopath, of course.

What was your reaction to making the shortlist?

I was so excited. It’s a great honour to be shortlisted among some of the best new journalists in the financial world. As I said on Twitter, I would wish them luck, but I want all the luck for myself.

What made you become a financial journalist?

During the Covid pandemic, I was a freelance journalist. After losing my job at The Grocer in April 2020, just as lockdown hit, I was having a bit of a quarter-life crisis, and I was wondering whether I even wanted to stay in journalism at all. Maybe I should have retrained as a psychologist. Anyway, I used to work with Katey (Pigden) – Money Marketing Editor extraordinaire – at Utility Week, and we became good friends. She knew I was looking for a new challenge and getting pretty bored of writing about water companies (no offence to water companies) and she told me she was recruiting for Money Marketing and did I want to go for one of the roles. Obviously, I said yes and here we are. Pure nepotism.

From your work so far, if you had to pick the story / feature / campaign you are most proud of, what would it be, and why?

It would have to be my cover feature on Big Tech. Our Art Editor Leon (Parkes) did an absolutely fantastic job of turning my concept into a cover image. The idea was that Big Tech (companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft) is a monster lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on financial services. B2B journalism can sometimes get a bit dry, so I’m always looking for opportunities to frame things in a different way, and I think this Big Tech article is a good example of that.

Which financial interview would you most like to arrange?

I think last year I said Neil Woodford. I still haven’t managed to get an interview with him, so… him. But also, setting my sights even higher, I would love to interview Elon Musk. He’s such a weird man – he’d be intriguing to interview. And psychoanalyse at the same time for a book I want to write on unusual minds.

2022 was a turbulent year, did you face any particular difficulties as a relatively new financial journalist?

It was certainly an interesting year. I made the opening speech at the Money Marketing Awards last September and started off by listing everything which had changed or gone wrong in the past year. As I got further and further down the list, people started to laugh (mirthlessly I think) about the ridiculous situation we were in. And, of course, even more has happened since September. When even the mid-affluent are starting to struggle to pay bills and other living costs, you know something is wrong. Our audience of financial advisers primarily deal with monied people (obviously) and tell me that even their clients are concerned about the current crisis we find ourselves in. It can be difficult to see the other side but, as Canada Life CEO Lindsey Rix said when I interviewed her last year: “We need to look beyond the dark times, which seem inevitable in our immediate future. We get through every crisis, and we’ll get through this one.”

The piece of advice I'd give to someone starting out in financial journalism is:

Embrace every opportunity. Network beyond just formal meetings. Make friends with your contacts. I would say journalism is 30% writing and 70% relationship building. (I totally just made that stat up, but it feels right).

Sum up your time as a financial journalist so far in three words:

A social whirl.

If you were up for an award for any hobbies/activities outside of work, what would you be likely to win, and why?

I’ve tried a lot of new things in my life: horse riding, running, swimming, piano, cello, singing, windsurfing, trampolining, gymnastics, hiking, improv acting, scuba diving, sky diving, ice skating, the list goes on. I always pick things up quickly and get to a certain level. But I’ve never stuck with anything (except horse riding). Is there an award for being only just above average at everything? I think I’d win that. Or maybe just an award for trying new things.

Finally, if you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Easy. Linguine with pistachio pesto. Specifically, the one my sister makes. Delicious.

View the full journalist shortlist.