News of cutbacks and closures has become all too familiar in the magazine industry in recent years, but we at Shares are bucking the trend!

It has always been Shares’ mission to be the retail investor’s trusted provider of financial education, news and information. The magazine’s regeneration will see significant changes to our content, physical appearance, as well as our marketing strategy and subscriber acquisition plans.

These are exciting times at Shares. Applying the same disciplines our team of expert writers use to analyse publicly quoted companies, the magazine’s approach can be summarised as follows:

• Our purpose. Our goal is unchanged. We want our in-depth research, high-quality graphics and insightful commentary to help readers research, use and profit from the financial markets more effectively. In sum, our aim is to help everyone achieve financial peace of mind, at a time when uncertainty over the future direction of the economy still abounds. We aim to give retail investors confidence so they can use the range of asset classes and instruments best suited to their own goals, time horizon and appetite for risk.

• Our values. Our analysis is intelligent, informed and independent. We help short-term traders and long-term investors alike cut through the noise and focus on what is important for them. We want to make investing easier.

• Our ambitions. We want to build the best investment magazine and online research platform available to the retail investor. Shares benefits from being part of its parent MSM Media and the access this provides to our family of websites, such as www.moneyam.com and www.sharesmagazine.co.uk, as well as the group’s educational and awards events. The quality of our research and data is our key competitive advantage. Readers can benefit as they better understand their own goals and make the markets work for them.

• Our ingenious plan. We believe recognition of this will help drive news-stand sales and subscriptions higher through word of mouth, which will be supplemented by a reinvigorated marketing and advertising strategy.

We will be undertaking a major circulation drive during the autumn. Major promotions for the magazine have been booked in WH Smith High Street and Travel and in major supermarkets. There is also a big push to persuade many more smaller independent stores to stock the title. In addition a digital campaign to boost subscriber numbers is being undertaken.

In what is a competitive, and frankly challenging, marketplace we intend to drive readership higher across all platforms, print, online and mobile.

Shares’ comprehensive weekly package will still explain what is happening in the financial markets, how readers can use them to preserve or create wealth and why they can be an important part of everyone’s financial planning, as we all save up for school fees, retirement or simply a rainy day.

To make it even better, we will be making the following changes:

• A move from 56 to 68 pages

• Use heavier paper and a glossy, separately printed cover

• Introduce new sections to the magazine, including Under The Bonnet, a dedicated special situations page; The Big Debate, a comparison of one large and one small cap stock according to a key investment theme; and The Name is Bond, a section dedicated to fixed income.

• Revamp regular sections such as Plays, Sector Report, Griller, Databank and Agenda, so they feature improved infographics and charts to help readers understand the key market issues.

The difficult economic environment, the era of austerity and the advent of new regulations in the form of the Retail Distribution Review mean everyone must take closer notice and control of their financial affairs. The good news is a fabulous array of service providers and platforms mean has never been easier to start as a Do-It-Yourself investor.

Shares is perfectly placed to help foster these trends and make a real difference.

The changes are all being introduced from the issue which goes on sale next week (September 12) and the cover price is unchanged at £4.10.

Mike

It all sounds good to me. Well done Mike, looking forward to the regenerated read!

Is this another re-vamp like we had a few years ago which went down with subscribers like a lead balloon?

Sounds interesting Mike Ill be getting one on the 12th.

Wish youd sell them from smaller Tesco Express stores. Cant get down the Town very often.

Hope it all goes well.

Have them delivered goldfinger. Look forward to the next issue.

Good to see you are adopting a positive attitude, Halifax!

DC I like to have a good read every now and again. A weekly subs is not my type of thing. Tesco Express used to sell the IC a couple of years back as did sainsburys.

Hoping we get shares mag now instead.

Can I subscribe using my Tesco Clubcard points? lol

Halifax; Hopefully you will like the new format. You might have noticed small changes occurring over the last few months, more in depth research and additional brokers forecasts as well. But do let us have your feedback on the latest version.

Goldfinger. We have tried to get Tesco to put it into their smaller stores but sadly with no luck, but we will be in lots more of their bigger ones.

Put it in brown paper! :-)

Cheers Bullshare.

I can get to the big Tesco by ordering online.

Brilliant.

Re the new Shares magazine - Very well laid out and nice and clear. Nice touch to put the separate sheet explaining about the new magazine from Russ Mould. Well done.

Glad you like it !!!


Mike

Apologies.

Solved my own problem.

Like the new presentation.

Good offer from Isubscribe . Just renewed my next 51 issues for £160.55 which includes a 5% discount for renewing in the next 7 days. Shop price £209.10.

£3.14 a week instead of £4.10 and delivered free.

Shares is published/delivered by MSM. MSM can be contacted on 01444 475 661 or by email (shares.subs@qss-uk.com) for any delivery and customer service enquiries.

Thanks Mike and co for the new meatier wrap. I like it and its arrival each Thursday brightens up the postal delivery no end :)

Shares' World Investment Outlook 2014 bookazine. In Wh smiths - is this a book ?

Its a 146 page magazine !!!

M

Why don't they sell it in my local Asda or Tesco Mike ?

Is it a distribution thing or just a geographical thing ?

Cheers

Cheers Bullshare, happy new year.

Dil: its a unique product commissioned by WH Smith so they have sole selling rights !

We tested Shares in Sainsburys a month or so ago but they want so much money to continue to list it we gave up, same with Asda and Tesco's we ended up paying them £6 per copy sold, not good when cover price is £4.10:-(