Spear's

About Spear's

Spear's is a bimonthly British magazine for high-net-worth individuals and the professionals who advise them, founded in London in 2006 by William Cash. Originally launched as Spear's Wealth Management Survey (later Spear's WMS), it has grown into a multi-platform media brand covering wealth management, private banking, luxury lifestyle, philanthropy and the business of being rich. Described by GQ as "the Bible of the banking fraternity" and by the Evening Standard as "a European rival to Forbes," it is read by more than 30,000 of Europe's decision-makers and wealthy individuals, and its rankings — the Spear's 500 — are among the most closely watched guides to advisers in the private-client world.

Published by Progressive Digital Media and based in London, Spear's combines investigative journalism, high-profile interviews and authoritative rankings with a calendar of awards and events that has made it a fixture of the private-wealth calendar. Its coverage ranges from tax and trust law to art, yachts and philanthropy, and it has interviewed figures from Prince Albert II of Monaco to David Miliband. Below is a detailed profile of the publication: its founding, editorial character, flagship products, and the influence it wields in the world of wealth.

History and Founding

Spear's was founded in 2006 by William Cash, a journalist, author and society figure, as Spear's Wealth Management Survey — a journal for the high-net-worth individuals who called London home, at least for part of the year, and for the bankers, lawyers and advisers who served them. The launch came as London was consolidating its position as the global capital of private wealth: the years before the financial crisis saw a surge in the number of wealthy individuals basing themselves in the city, and with them a booming industry of wealth managers, family offices and private-client lawyers. Cash's insight was that this world — discreet, clubby and notoriously hard to report on — deserved its own dedicated publication.

The launch attracted considerable publicity, with coverage in The Independent, The Guardian, Luxist and The Times. The title was soon shortened to Spear's, and the magazine settled into its identity as a bimonthly journal of wealth: part Forbes, part Vanity Fair, devoted to the intersection of money, power and luxury.

The Founding Editor: William Cash

William Cash, the founding editor, was the driving force behind Spear's for its first decade and more. As editor-at-large, he shaped the magazine's voice: insider, well-connected, unafraid to name names in a world that prizes discretion. His editorship was recognised with two Editor of the Year wins at the PPA Awards, in 2007 and 2008 — a remarkable achievement for such a young title. Cash's own standing in London society gave the magazine its access: his address book opened doors to the bankers, lawyers and wealthy families who became its subjects, sources and subscribers.

Cash is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the magazine, but as the publication noted in its 15th anniversary edition in 2021, "everyone associated with Spear's today owes him a debt of thanks" for the founding idea: a journal for the high-net-worth individuals who called London home.

Editorial Focus

Spear's covers the full spectrum of the wealth-management world. Its core subjects are private banking, wealth management, tax and trust planning, family offices, philanthropy, succession and reputation management — the technical machinery of preserving and passing on fortunes. Around this core, it builds a lifestyle superstructure: luxury property, art, watches, cars, yachts, private aviation, fine wine and travel, all covered from the perspective of the ultra-wealthy consumer.

The magazine is also known for its interest in philanthropy and the social responsibilities of wealth. Its interviews frequently probe the giving habits and charitable commitments of its subjects, and its awards celebrate philanthropic achievement alongside commercial success. The title has been described as "a cross between Forbes and Vanity Fair" — combining hard-nosed coverage of the wealth industry with the gloss and glamour of luxury lifestyle journalism.

The Audience

Spear's subscribers include more than 30,000 of Europe's decision-makers and wealthy individuals — a readership that the magazine describes as the most exclusive of any magazine. Its readers are ultra-high-net-worth individuals, the bankers, lawyers, accountants and family-office professionals who advise them, and the luxury brands that court them. This is an audience that is famously difficult for advertisers to reach through conventional media, and Spear's access to it is the foundation of its commercial success.

The magazine's influence extends well beyond its subscriber base. Its rankings and awards are covered in the national press, its interviews are widely quoted, and its research is cited by the wealth industry. In the private-client world — the lawyers, trustees and wealth managers who serve the rich — Spear's is essential reading.

The Spear's 500

The Spear's 500 is the magazine's flagship ranking: a guide to the top consultants and service providers across the wealth and luxury industries, compiled by the Spear's Research Unit. Covering categories from private banking and wealth management to law, accountancy, property, art advisory and luxury services, the 500 is designed as the definitive, merit-based guide for high-net-worth individuals seeking expert advice. The magazine describes its database of top advisers as "the largest, broadest and most detailed in the world."

The rankings are complemented by the Spear's 500 Travel guide and by spears500.com, a dedicated website launched in 2021 that makes the rankings available online. Inclusion in the 500 is a coveted accolade in the private-client industry, and the rankings drive a significant part of the brand's engagement with its professional readership.

Awards and Events

The Spear's Awards — formerly the Spear's Wealth Management Awards — are one of the highlights of the private-client calendar, held annually at venues such as the Dorchester Hotel in London. Dubbed "the most anticipated night of the private client calendar," the awards celebrate excellence across wealth management, private banking, law, philanthropy and entrepreneurship. Winners in 2022 included the billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, named Entrepreneur of the Year for his work with the pan-African technology companies Econet and Cassava Technologies and his philanthropic endeavours through the Higherlife Foundation and Delta Philanthropies.

The shortlists are devised by the Spear's Research Unit with expert participation, and a panel of judges selects the winners. The magazine has also expanded its events arm with regional seminars for wealth management firms, extending the brand's reach beyond London. Alongside the awards, the Spear's Indices — surveys of key people in the high-net-worth world — and Spear's Salon, the magazine's blogging forum hosting regular contributors, round out the brand's research and commentary products.

Notable Interviews

Under the editorship of Alec Marsh, Spear's ran a celebrated series of interviews with high-profile figures. Subjects included Prince Albert II of Monaco, the former Irish president Mary Robinson, the former Cabinet minister Rory Stewart, and Nigel Farage — who discussed being hated and his return to politics ahead of the launch of the Brexit Party in 2019. In 2017, David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, told Spear's in an exclusive interview that the world's rich needed to give more money to charity and good causes — an interview that was widely followed up elsewhere.

The interviews exemplify the magazine's approach: access journalism of the highest order, using its unique position in the wealth world to secure conversations that other publications cannot, and using those conversations to probe the responsibilities as well as the pleasures of great fortune.

Editorial Leadership

After William Cash, the editorship of Spear's passed through several distinguished hands. Josh Spero, Christopher Silvester and Alec Marsh each held the post, with Marsh presiding over the magazine's celebrated interview series. In June 2020, Marsh stepped down as editor, becoming editor-at-large, and was succeeded by his deputy editor Edwin Smith. Smith, who has bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph and Esquire, now leads the magazine as editor-in-chief, overseeing its print, digital and events operations. In 2021 he launched the World of Wealth podcast, in which he speaks with entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals and their most trusted advisers about how the world of wealth really works.

Ownership and the Business

Spear's is now published by Progressive Digital Media. The magazine's business model is built on its uniquely valuable audience: luxury advertising, subscriptions from wealthy individuals and the firms that serve them, and a growing portfolio of research, rankings, awards and events products. As the magazine's management has noted, "having an award-winning magazine as our flagship gives us the credibility to develop our online, awards and research products fully for the benefit of our high net worth audience, the most exclusive of any magazine."

The 15th anniversary edition in 2021, produced in partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation — the charity working to restore the world's oceans to health — featured cover art by the neo-pop surrealist Philip Colbert and reflected the magazine's growing emphasis on philanthropy and sustainability alongside wealth.

Digital Expansion

Spear's has invested heavily in its digital presence. The main editorial website at spearswms.com carries the magazine's journalism online, while spears500.com serves as the home of the rankings. The brand has moved to charge for digital editions, reflecting the value of its content to its professional readership, and has built a digital division — led by Deirdre Brennan, founder of the American hedge fund newsletter FinAlternatives — tasked with expanding the brand's reach, including into the United States.

The redesigned editorial website serves as the home of Spear's journalism on the web, while the World of Wealth podcast extends the brand into audio. The digital strategy is designed to do for the online wealth audience what the print magazine did for the London wealth world in 2006: create a definitive, trusted destination.

Reputation and Influence

Nick Cohen, writing in The Spectator, called Spear's "the best portrait I have seen of a world beyond our means and comprehension" — a verdict that captures the magazine's peculiar achievement: it is both an insider's trade journal for the wealth industry and a fascinating window for outsiders into how the very rich live, invest and give. GQ's description of it as "the Bible of the banking fraternity" and the Evening Standard's as "a European rival to Forbes" have stuck because they are accurate: in its field, Spear's has no real competitor.

Nearly two decades after its founding, the magazine remains the authoritative voice of the European wealth world — chronicling its deals, ranking its advisers, celebrating its philanthropists and interrogating its responsibilities. For anyone seeking to understand the business of great fortunes, it is indispensable reading. Visit the official website at spearswms.com.