From the Editor: When bad news is bad news

Bad news sells. It is a phrase all-too-familiar with journalists who may have heard it from their reader critics, and perhaps from their editors. It’s true of course, the phrase. In most cases, a bulletin led by a negative news piece will garner more attention than one which does not.

Does this mean positive stories are overlooked? Probably, but rarely intentionally. It’s simply that bad news is communicated more often, firstly between you and, consequently, between us.

But this isn’t always the case. Professional Adviser ran a piece earlier this year which bucked a number of apparent trends in the trade press. Headlined ‘Why my IFA will be a friend for life’, it told the story of Mum-of-three Lynsey Haywood who, after the death of her husband, relied on the level-headedness and wise words of her adviser. “It is a shame everybody doesn’t have an adviser like mine,” she told us. It was one of the best-read articles of the year (if you missed it, you can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/6xglru4)

Why am I sharing this? It is to inform you that, from next year, you can expect a greater focus - in these pages and on IFAonline - on advisers’ achievements. You will read more stories about the good you do for your clients, your business and the industry.

We’ve made a start in the final edition of 2011 of Professional Adviser magazine. Pages 12 and 13 offer a look-back at some of your best moments of the last 12 months, moments which saw advisers turn the lives of their clients around (in one case thanks to a two-minute telephone conversation).

Finally, I'd like to take this chance to wish everyone a merry Christmas and propserous New Year.

Scott Sinclair

Editor, Professional Adviser and IFAonline.co.uk