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Nothing New or Newsworthing in Personal Finance NewsBy Dean Rotbart Some years back I had
a conversation with a top editor at Money magazine during which I asked:
How would your readers know if by mistake you published the September
issue in August and vice versa? The thinking behind my
question is that when it comes to personal finance news, which advocates
prudent, long-term strategies, can the rules of the game really change enough on
a month-to-month basis to justify a monthly magazine? In the case of Money,
which has long lead times for most of its articles, the question was even more
relevant: What is there to be said
that Money hasnât already been said over and over and over again since the
magazine was launched in October 1972? Now, years later,
comes the definitive answer from one of The Wall Street Journalâs most
respected personal finance writers: ăNothing.ä Thatâs right.
The news in Jonathan Clementsâ most recent Getting Going column,
printed on Sundays in newspapers across the country, is that in the sometimes
breathless world of personal finance journalism --
ă10 Hot Stocks That Will Double In Valueä -- everything that needs to
be said has already been said. ăConsider the key
question: What should investors do
today?ä writes Mr. Clements, 40, who himself has been penning Getting Going
since 1995. ăThe answer:
The same thing they should have done last year, and the year before that,
and the year before that.ä This is not the kind
of journalistic probity that is likely to make editors giddy, especially at
Money, SmartMoney, Kiplingerâs and Worth. Mr. Clements is even
more specific. Here is everything
he believes you need to know about successful personal finance strategy.
The rest, as has been said, is commentary: ăInvestors should
focus on their financial goals, save diligently, diversify broadly, hold down
investment costs, minimize taxes and rebalance regularly.ä
Voila.
Thatâs it. Now, all the personal
finance writers and editors can report to work next Monday morning and find
other, more timely topics to explore. Really. Of course, there is
too much money to be made selling newspapers, books and magazines to consumers
who want to believe it is otherwise. Prodded
by the media, too many people want to believe that there are tricks to making
and maintaining wealth and that for only $3.95 a month, some magazine will tell
them exactly what those tricks are. Beyond just protecting
their own personal finances, Iâm sure most business writers would argue on
principal that Mr. Clementsâ mind has sold him short. After all, new investors are constantly entering the
marketplace for whom the news is fresh and other, more seasoned investors can
always stand a refresher course. If
you doubt that, just consider the record-high number of bankruptcies each year
in this country. Moreover, if you
eliminated personal finance news, youâd also wipe out some of the most
creative minds in public relations; i.e. those men and women who work in the
financial services industry and constantly find new designs on the same old
themes. It is no small challenge. So Mr. Clementsâ
moment of clarity is unlikely to derail the personal finance gravy train, and
Iâm sure within the next week or two, he himself will be writing columns that
could just as well run in August or September or three years from May.
(A decade ago he wrote a book, ăFunding Your Future: The
Only Guide to Mutual Funds You'll Ever Need,ä and hasnât said a word on the
subject since. NOT!) In 1899, Charles H.
Duell, then commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, lobbied President
William McKinley to close the bureau. ăEverything
that can be invented has been invented,ä Mr. Duell claimed. The public servant
was, of course, slightly off in his assessment.
Perhaps instead of serving as patent office commissioner, Mr. Duell
should have sought employment in the steady but sure field of personal finance
journalism.
July 28, 2003
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