MacKay's new site to combat 'mumbo-jumbo' after Platforum exit
The founder of the Platforum has laid out her long term plans for her new investment website, saying she wants to break down the "mumbo-jumbo" for the layman investor.
Holly MacKay aims to provide a trusted, independent source of information for non-advised customers with her new venture, following her exit from the Platforum, which was confirmed in September.
Ms MacKay, who revealed she came up with the Platforum name while pushing her four week old son around in his pram, will operate as an independent investment expert through the new site.
Asked why she decided to sell and move on from her own company, she said: "Two reasons. First, someone offered me some cold, hard cash, which was nice! I'm quite risk averse and I'm bringing up two small children so the financial certainty that brought me was worth a lot.
"I'm also not a greedy person and the idea of hawking the business around the market just wasn't my style. Centaur were good parents and it was a good fit.
"Secondly, in the later years, I felt that platforms and advice models had really started to settle down and so some of the strategic interest, for me, had gone. Six years ago all of the adviser platforms looked pretty different. Today there's less difference between them and there's only so long you can bang on about a 5bps cost differential."
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She said she is focusing on the content on her website HollyMackay.com before sponsorship and generating revenue.
She said: "My long-term plan is provide a trusted, independent source of information for non-advised customers who have investment decisions to make.
"Nonetheless, before doing anything else, I want to take the next 6 months to talk to customers. So I'll be writing some articles for a few of the nationals and consumer titles and talking to investors for these, I'll be working on consumer projects with some industry clients and I'll be chatting to anyone from outside the industry who will listen to me about their finances."
Funds, tax wrappers, the new ISA, Sipps and drawdown pensions will be among the key topics she writes about and she stressed that she wants to write for the man and woman in the street.
She said: "Rather than write about jargon and mumbo-jumbo I want to write with my sister in mind, with my website-designer in mind, with my kids' teachers in mind – people have to want to listen before they will learn."
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