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At Liminal, we’re great believers that you really need to deeply understand your client, their business and the environment they operate in, if you’re to have any chance of doing a good job advising them on their communications.
For young comms pros starting out in the financial services industry, this can be a pretty daunting task, as unfamiliar vocabulary, complex ideas, and esoteric business models, make it difficult to find your feet.
I’m often asked if there’s a book that gives a good grounding in finance and, after much searching over the years, I’ve concluded the best place to start is with Nial Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money.
Written at the end of the financial crisis, the historian charts the evolution of the sophisticated financial world we see around us, beginning with the origins of money, and then banking. From there we watch the invention of stocks and bonds, as well as a whole host of other innovations, while reflecting on the nature of risk, and the pursuit of returns.
Not only is this a comprehensive, interesting and accessible introduction to the key concepts that govern financial markets today, importantly it also explains the 2008 financial crisis, which still casts such a long shadow today. A must-read for beginners and seasoned pros alike!
