"Stocks will certify 18 percent lower".
Business Magazines: The stock market crisis has left a deep hole in the circulation of the investor magazine *Stocks*. Nevertheless, publisher Ralph Büchi is far from thinking about giving up.
Business magazines The stock market crisis has left a deep hole in the circulation of the investor magazine Stocks. Nevertheless, publisher Ralph Büchi is far from thinking of giving up. WW It must be very painful to have an investor magazine like Stocks on the market now. Can you put your tears into words?Ralph Büchi No one would have imagined that the negative development could last so long. But we remain convinced that Zurich and Geneva will remain important financial centers in the future. And it is equally certain that Switzerland will remain an investor country par excellence - with above-average private investor commitment. That is why, despite the current uncomfortable situation on the stock market, we are convinced that there is room for a weekly investor magazine like Stocks in this market.
But when it comes to selling off stocks, the despair on the stock market has certainly already left deep marks. The certification in spring is hardly likely to be a joyful event...
Sure, Stocks is clearly feeling the pinch. We will certify 18 percent lower this month than last year. The paid circulation is currently a good 21,000 copies. Nevertheless, I consider this result to be surprisingly good. It shows that there is still a core of investors who rely on a stock market magazine like Stocks, even in the face of such turbulent developments.
Sales at newsstands must look particularly dismal, which already accounted for just under 10 percent of circulation last year.
Newsstand sales will also certainly be below the 2002 figures. But with this result, Stocks is in good company with all other business titles. The losses hurt us less financially, because it's no secret that you don't earn much from newsstand copies. But interest at the newsstand is an important indicator of how well or badly a title is standing in the wind.
The newsstand buyers are not the hard core of investors. For the future success of such a magazine, it is above all important to be able to keep the core readers - and we have them with our subscribers.
Last week, the stock market closed below the psychological mark of 4,000 points, its lowest level in more than six years - meaning that confidence in equities is likely to be broken for a long time to come.
Most experts believe that we are very likely to see a massive upward correction in the next twelve months, albeit not with the excessive valuations of the nineties. It would probably be a bad decision to completely detach the invested funds from the stock markets now. In that case, there would be hardly any chance to accumulate these funds again. From a long-term yield perspective, there is no investment alternative to equities.
But at least among retail investors, we have to assume that confidence in equities has already fallen below the "point of no return."
I don't believe in a point of no return. What we are experiencing is a very strong, but also cleansing storm. After all, it is not primarily confidence in stocks that has disappeared, but rather confidence in many corporate leaders and various companies. But companies and managers are in the process of rebuilding that trust. Those who succeed in doing so will be rewarded by the financial markets.
And what if the distrust is more lasting than you suspect?
New investment products, such as structured financial products, aim to minimize risk for investors. Every day, such new creations come onto the market, allowing investors to put together their own personal risk profile. The fact is that investing money has also become more complicated as a result. But this is even an advantage for Stocks, because now more than ever investors need reading material to help them through the daily expanded offer.
A reorientation in terms of content or at least an expansion of the
Content of Stocks was not a topic until now?
We have discussed this a lot over the past few months. We have decided to keep our current focus. We are not turning Stocks into just any business magazine that generally covers business topics. We remain an investor magazine, but of course our horizons have broadened. After all, many investors today have large cash holdings that also need to be managed. We are also increasingly writing about other forms of investment; for example, fixed-income investments are a focus in the latest Stocks issue.
But that also means that Stocks' target audience is changing, now that retail investors feel most alienated by the stock market.
Our target group has shifted heavily in the direction of wealthy private investors. Online or day traders, a hallmark of the boom in 2000, are largely a thing of the past. This is also evident from the fact that of the major Swiss online traders, only Swissquote remains.
But Stocks will not be able to avoid cost-cutting measures either. How many people have you had to lay off?
We haven't laid anyone off. However, with ten people in the editorial department and four in layout, we have been a very lean team since the start. Of course, we are very happy about this tight staffing level at the moment. But we have also made other savings. We've cut back on our promotional print run, and we've put the brakes on circulation and advertising - just like all the other print media. We simply have to get through the winter in the best possible way...
... and wait for currently absolutely missing ads, which, especially in the financial sector, hardly ever return as violently as in the past boom years.
I am convinced that there is an enormous need to catch up, especially for advertising in the financial sector. After all, banks can't just stand by and watch their customers migrate to the competition or even turn their backs on the financial markets.
Believes in a return of financial service providers to the advertising market: Stocks publisher Ralph Büchi
Interview: Daniel Schifferle
But when it comes to selling off stocks, the despair on the stock market has certainly already left deep marks. The certification in spring is hardly likely to be a joyful event...
Sure, Stocks is clearly feeling the pinch. We will certify 18 percent lower this month than last year. The paid circulation is currently a good 21,000 copies. Nevertheless, I consider this result to be surprisingly good. It shows that there is still a core of investors who rely on a stock market magazine like Stocks, even in the face of such turbulent developments.
Sales at newsstands must look particularly dismal, which already accounted for just under 10 percent of circulation last year.
Newsstand sales will also certainly be below the 2002 figures. But with this result, Stocks is in good company with all other business titles. The losses hurt us less financially, because it's no secret that you don't earn much from newsstand copies. But interest at the newsstand is an important indicator of how well or badly a title is standing in the wind.
The newsstand buyers are not the hard core of investors. For the future success of such a magazine, it is above all important to be able to keep the core readers - and we have them with our subscribers.
Last week, the stock market closed below the psychological mark of 4,000 points, its lowest level in more than six years - meaning that confidence in equities is likely to be broken for a long time to come.
Most experts believe that we are very likely to see a massive upward correction in the next twelve months, albeit not with the excessive valuations of the nineties. It would probably be a bad decision to completely detach the invested funds from the stock markets now. In that case, there would be hardly any chance to accumulate these funds again. From a long-term yield perspective, there is no investment alternative to equities.
But at least among retail investors, we have to assume that confidence in equities has already fallen below the "point of no return."
I don't believe in a point of no return. What we are experiencing is a very strong, but also cleansing storm. After all, it is not primarily confidence in stocks that has disappeared, but rather confidence in many corporate leaders and various companies. But companies and managers are in the process of rebuilding that trust. Those who succeed in doing so will be rewarded by the financial markets.
And what if the distrust is more lasting than you suspect?
New investment products, such as structured financial products, aim to minimize risk for investors. Every day, such new creations come onto the market, allowing investors to put together their own personal risk profile. The fact is that investing money has also become more complicated as a result. But this is even an advantage for Stocks, because now more than ever investors need reading material to help them through the daily expanded offer.
A reorientation in terms of content or at least an expansion of the
Content of Stocks was not a topic until now?
We have discussed this a lot over the past few months. We have decided to keep our current focus. We are not turning Stocks into just any business magazine that generally covers business topics. We remain an investor magazine, but of course our horizons have broadened. After all, many investors today have large cash holdings that also need to be managed. We are also increasingly writing about other forms of investment; for example, fixed-income investments are a focus in the latest Stocks issue.
But that also means that Stocks' target audience is changing, now that retail investors feel most alienated by the stock market.
Our target group has shifted heavily in the direction of wealthy private investors. Online or day traders, a hallmark of the boom in 2000, are largely a thing of the past. This is also evident from the fact that of the major Swiss online traders, only Swissquote remains.
But Stocks will not be able to avoid cost-cutting measures either. How many people have you had to lay off?
We haven't laid anyone off. However, with ten people in the editorial department and four in layout, we have been a very lean team since the start. Of course, we are very happy about this tight staffing level at the moment. But we have also made other savings. We've cut back on our promotional print run, and we've put the brakes on circulation and advertising - just like all the other print media. We simply have to get through the winter in the best possible way...
... and wait for currently absolutely missing ads, which, especially in the financial sector, hardly ever return as violently as in the past boom years.
I am convinced that there is an enormous need to catch up, especially for advertising in the financial sector. After all, banks can't just stand by and watch their customers migrate to the competition or even turn their backs on the financial markets.
Believes in a return of financial service providers to the advertising market: Stocks publisher Ralph Büchi
Interview: Daniel Schifferle
