Conexus Financial has announced the appointment of Kate Cowling as the new editor of Professional Planner magazine and online.
Cowling joins the editorial staff at Conexus Financial following a career that has taken in writing for the Australian Financial Review, Smart Investor, The Sydney Morning Herald, Money Management and Super Review. She will be tasked with taking the masthead into a new age for the financial planning industry, and maintaining its market-leading media partnerships.
“I am delighted to be joining Professional Planner and building on its legacy,” Cowling said. “Under the editorship of Simon Hoyle, Professional Planner has given financial planners a voice at a time of rapid change, while keeping them informed about the issues that affect them most. I look forward to continuing that tradition.”
Hoyle will remain with the business as editor-at-large. He will continue to write for Professional Planner, but his new role will also involve writing insightful and investigative pieces for Investment Magazine and top1000funds.com.
Hoyle has been with Professional Planner for almost nine years and his reputation and insights will continue to be of value to the publication. He will work with Cowling as a mentor and subject matter expert.
“When we launched Professional Planner, the financial planning industry was in dire need of reform and in denial about that need,” Hoyle said. “It wasn’t popular at the time to be telling the industry it was riddled with conflicts, structurally corrupt and dominated by self-interest, but that’s how it was. Today, the need for reform is not only widely understood – albeit with a few pockets of resistance remaining – it is underway.
“Professional Planner’s mission has to change, from beating the drum for reform to providing leadership and guidance for practitioners as they adapt to and implement change, and as they evolve towards becoming professionals. It’s appropriate that Professional Planner reinvent itself to reflect the changes.
“I’m delighted to welcome Kate as Professional Planner’s new editor, and I’m confident she is the right person to lead the publication through this new phase of development. In my new role, I’ll have the time I need to pursue the issues and write the stories that matter, and to continue to prosecute the case for higher professional, ethical and education standards, and to hold the industry accountable to those standards.”
The appointment represents the ongoing commitment to journalism by Conexus Financial, following the arrival of Sally Rose as the editor of Investment Magazine.
Conexus Financial chief executive Colin Tate said: “Conexus Financial has a reputation for excellence in the financial services market, and despite clearly challenging times for the media in general, we are committed to hiring the best talent and growing our readership with integrity. Kate Cowling’s appointment is a clear statement of our commitment to publishing valuable and relevant media in the financial space.”
Keith Barrett is managing editor of Conexus Financial.
