India Today Group launches personal finance magazine ‘Money Today’

The India Today Group is on a launching spree. It is launching today, all over India, its much talked about and anticipated personal finance magazine, ‘Money Today’. The fortnightly magazine hits the news stands with a print run of 65,000 copies. The 100-page magazine is priced at Rs 30, which is higher than its nearest competitor from a rival media group. Two international titles, ‘Harvard Business Review South Asia’ and ‘Men’s Health’, were launched last week by the India Today group.

Aptly called ‘Money Today’ in keeping with its popular lineage and brand recognition, the magazine aims at the 30-40 years’ age group. The 3Cs principle of clarity, credibility and comprehensiveness is the guiding light behind the magazine. With a tag line that says ‘Makes You Richer’, the magazine comes with a high brand promise in money matters. Ashish Bagga, CEO, India Today Group, sets his product in a niche apart from the others in the personal finance domain, calling it more a guide than a guru.

Aroon Purie, editor-in-chief, India Today Group, says that while earning money has become easy, investing it is difficult. Personally, too, he finds investing money to be tricky. He describes the magazine as one that will fill the need-gap between information and knowledge. Towards this end, it comes with the promise that it will collate information in consultation with experts and investors and come out with easy and informative text and graphics.

In his words, the magazine will offer down-to-earth advice on major aspects of relevance in the financial domain like stock markets, mutual funds, insurance, banking, taxation, real estate and retirement planning. Besides, he promises coverage of newer areas like new businesses and careers.

The magazine will dole out content as an informed learner and not just provide fundamentally correct information. The challenge is to bring simplicity to complex financial matters.

Bagga says, “The approach is not talk-down, but that of a friend. It speaks the reader’s language and understands and empathises with his attitude towards finance related issues in a user-friendly manner.”

Rohit Saran, an executive director with the group, will be the magazine’s editor. Bagga describes Saran as having a keen interest in the birth of the magazine from idea to execution.

There will be regular sections providing expert advice on investment matters and guest columns by renowned personalities such as Deepak Parekh, KV Kamath and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. The magazine will also carry instructive case studies covering real-time issues affecting ordinary people from various walks of life, thus making them more easy to relate to. Bagga says that this speaks of the consumer-centric approach at the India Today Group.

The future augurs well for the magazine, according to Bagga. He says that while at one end is a product like ‘Harvard Business Review South Asia’, ‘Money Today’ stands for simplicity in money matters, which is sadly missing in other magazines in the same genre.

With sections such as ‘Your Wealth Calculator’ and ‘Portfolio Doctor’, the magazine has its sights set on the discerning reader right from when he starts earning. Taking it forward and keeping in line with its strategy, it wants to show the reader how to earn and invest smartly.

In fact, the inaugural issue looks at the hot topic of today, the stock markets. With the cover story, ‘Golden Rules of Stock Market Investing’, Bagga says the magazine is rightly positioned to be the right tool to make you richer. And it will do this by enabling the reader to move progressively with his saving and investment plans alongside his income cycle.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!