Moira O'Neill, personal finance editor at the Investors Chronicle, has been named the Wincott Personal Finance Journalist of the Year 2012. This is an incredibly prestigious award from the Wincott Foundation set up in 1969 in honour of Harold Wincott, the most distinguished economic journalist of his day in the UK and a former editor of the IC.
The criteria taken into account by the foundation's judges are clarity, depth of understanding, objectivity and, above all, the ability to write about complex topics in a way that is intelligible to the lay person, but also authoritative.
The distinguished judging panel said that Moira's submission was "the outstanding entry" in the personal finance category.
The judges said: "Moira's diligent and painstaking analysis and ranking of unit trusts is the kind of heavy lifting we expect from the Investors Chronicle, and she combines this with readable and accessible copy across her subject. Her articles are valuable both for professional and non-professional investors - a model for what personal financial journalism should be aiming at."
Earlier this month, IC's personal finance writer Katie Morley won Pensions Journalist of the Year (Consumer) at the HeadlineMoney Awards 2013. Here is what the judges said about Katie's submissions:
"They have an educational tone while remaining accessible and to the point for readers - ideal consumer-winning material, really."
"These pieces were not overly alarmist as some pensions items can be, in fact they provided a refreshing take especially for readers who perhaps already know the basics but are looking for new angles presented in a balanced way."
Also at the HeadlineMoney Awards, Katie was highly commended in the Rising Star of the Year (Consumer) category and IC was highly commended in the Financial Blog of the Year category.
Katie Morley
