Spear's (formerly known as Spear's WMS or Spear's Wealth Management Survey), founded in 2006 by William Cash, is a bimonthly British magazine for high-net-worth individuals and those in the financial service industries. It has been called "the Bible of the banking fraternity" by GQ and "a European rival to Forbes" by The Evening Standard. Its subscribers include over 30,000 of Europe’s decision-makers and wealthy. William Cash, Editor-in-Chief of Spear's, has twice won Editor of the Year at the PPA Awards (2007 and 2008). Spear's is published by Progressive Digital Media. The launch in 2006 included publicity from The Independent, The Guardian, the Luxist and The Times.
Contents
Spear's Indices are surveys of key people in the high net worth world.Spear's Salon is Spear's blogging forum which hosts a number of regular contributors.
History
William Cash, a magazine writer who has also been a foreign correspondent for The Times and the The Daily Telegraph, was Annabel's Magazine's contract publisher in 2005, when they published the pilot edition of Spear's as a supplement. At that time there was competition for advertisements from "fashion houses and luxury brands" upon which the magazine depended. Cash launched Spear's Wealth Management Survey in April 2006 with a targeted audience of "the 30,000 wealthiest, most successful and influential people in the UK: from Rich Listers to royalty; hedge fund managers to serial entrepreneurs; oligarchs to internet moguls; cabinet ministers to Sir Alex Ferguson."(Cash 2007) In February 2003 Cash married Ilaria Bulgari, whose father was the vice-chairman of Bulgari, the third largest jewellery company in the world. They divorced in 2007 and Cash sold 67% of his stake in the magazine for a seven-figure deal. Then in 2009 he bought his shares back.(Cash 2009) Cash is the owner of Upton Cressett Hall, a 16th-century Tudor manor in Shropshire.
Spear's Salon
Topics covered in Spear's WMS include 'Asset Management' with articles on investments in bonds versus equities, quantitative easing, impact of Mark Carney's appointment on the HNW individuals, Risks and Rewards of Rare Earths Investments; 'Art & Collecting' with articles on the art market boom, gallery etiquette and collectors who only want top names; 'The Good Life' with articles on owning your own island, airports becoming more luxurious, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Porsche competitions; 'Property' with articles on the repossession of a £5.25 million in One Hyde Park, social investment and the housing crisis and leaseholds in London; 'Legal' and 'Taxation" with articles on challenging the notion that companies must minimise the tax they pay, that tax avoidance is not a fiduciary duty, how US laws impact tax evasion by use of Swiss banks and G20 take action against tax-avoiding multinationals. They also deal with topics such as how to manage profits on the sale of hobby thoroughbreds without incurring a tax liability, and bulletproof cars.(Woollard 2006)
Spear's Power Indices
Spear's publishes their Power Indices in each issue in which they rank and rate the top individuals in each wealth management sector. Indexes include: London's top UHNW wealth managers, Spear's Family Lawyers, Spear's Hotel Index, Spear's Security Index, Education Index, UHNW Wealth Management and Family Office Index, Legal Index, Accountancy Index, Philanthropy Index, Reputation Management Index, Property Index, Artan Collecting Index, International Financial Centres Index (IFCs), Security Index, Private Equity Index, Business Angels Index and Hotels Index.(Cash 2009)
Spear's editorial staff
William Cash is Editor-in-Chief
Alec Marsh is Editor
Matthew Hardeman is Senior Researcher
Sophie McIntyre is Editorial Manager
Anthony Haden-Guest is Arts Editor
John Arlidge is Luxury and Travel Editor
Stephen Hill is Economics Editor
Olenka Hamilton is Researcher
Rasika Sittamparam in Researcher
Spear's Book Awards
Spear's Book Awards are given annually in a number of categories. The awards were inaugurated in 2009; the first winners included Gillian Tett's Fool's Gold and Liaquat Ahamed's Lords of Finance. The winners in 2010 included Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail.