Hi Dan. So what’s your interests and area of expertise?
I cover trading, investment and capital markets in every country in the world, with any associated technology, regulation and market structure. I also write about banking, which is an associated but quite different subject, and the technology and rules that are employed to help manage banks.

What’s your professional background? Who have you written for?
I started writing for financial technology newsletters at the turn of the millennium, then assisted with research papers at the Chartered Institute of Bankers (now the Institute of Financial Services). My big break was working as the technology editor on The Banker magazine, which I followed as deputy editor of Banking Technology and latterly The TRADE magazine. I have been a freelance since 2011.

Which awards have you won for your work?
I was named ‘Journalist of the Year – Investor Services & Technology’ at the State Street Institutional Press Awards in 2011 and 2012.

What do these awards mean to you? Have they opened any doors? What do clients think?
They are enormously important; a freelancer isn’t always perceived to be as important to speak to as a full-time journalist, nor are they perceived to be held to the same level of journalistic rigour. When an experienced, independent panel of judges decides that your writing is of a high standard, consistently, it gives commissioning editors and clients confidence in your abilities. It also tells interviewees that you know what you are talking about.

What do you enjoy most about client work?
When a client is pleased with the result. You can never judge the quality of your own work, until writing it has been forgotten – therefore you should only judge an article based on the audience’s view. That said, I have experienced reading an article and with pleasure discovering that I was the author, some time ago.

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