Hat trick of awards for FT Money writers

FT Money scored a hat trick of awards this week, winning three prestigious prizes in recognition of personal finance journalism.

Columnist Merryn Somerset Webb won the coveted Wincott Award for personal finance journalism on Thursday, and was hailed as “the doyenne of personal finance journalism” by Sir Richard Lambert, the Wincott Foundation chairman.

Winning praise for columns that highlighted excessive fund management charges and the complicated nature of pensions policy, the judges also noted that she “broke ranks” by coming out in favour of Brexit.

At the Headline Money Awards on Tuesday, Josephine Cumbo, the FT’s pensions correspondent, was awarded Pensions Journalist of the Year, and was described as “way ahead of the pack” by the judges.

Her articles on cashing in final salary pensions, the consequences of pension freedoms and a scoop exposing how an NHS Trust offered nurses cash in lieu of pensions payments were highly praised.

FT Money editor Claer Barrett was awarded Financial Commentator of the Year for the second consecutive year for her Serious Money columns criticising the government’s Help to Buy policy and explaining why parents shouldn’t repay their children’s student loans. Her third winning entry was a report into how female investors were turned off by “macho” investment advertising.

The judges said: “The discussion was one of the shortest in history, with the panel unanimously agreed on the winner within a few minutes of sitting down.”