9 Top Financial Magazines To Read

Smart investors make a point of keeping up with trends – in markets, in industry sectors, and in the world at large.

Savvy financial reporting is a reliable way to get access to the information, insights, and analytics that will help keep you at the top of your financial game.

But what are the top financial magazines to read to stay informed? We researched the best financial publications for you to keep you ahead of the curve.

How to Choose a
Great Financial Magazine

Financial magazines aren’t all the same.

Some can be annoyingly preachy, repeating the same old chestnuts that you’ve heard a hundred times before about asset allocation, portfolio diversification, and hanging on for the long term.

Others can be dry and peppered with hard-to-understand jargon linked to numbers that writers make little or no effort to explain.

The most useful financial magazines offer valuable insights and easy-to-understand analysis, whether the topic is the best mutual funds to invest in or the smartest ways to save for your retirement.

The editorial and writing teams should be made up of names you recognize as experts on other media outlets and who you have learned to trust.

The ideal financial magazine is authoritative, renowned in its specialized niche, and proud of its reputation as a trusted source of financial news.

Here are our choices for the nine best financial magazines to read that belong in every investor’s library.

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The Economist

The Economist is an indispensable resource for any investor who wants to understand the geopolitical interconnections underlying the movement of money across global boundaries.

This London-based weekly has been going strong for 176 years and shows no sign of slowing down, so you know it’s doing something right.

The magazine covers an abundance of political, social, scientific, and business topics from the perspective of marginal costs and benefits – an essence of economic analysis.

The Economist maintains news bureaus and correspondents in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Its reporting is thoughtful, and its writers make a point of explaining complex concepts in terms that intelligent laypersons will easily to grasp. Stories are often accompanied by infographics.

The Economist’s greatest failing may also be its greatest strength: It contains so much information that it can be very difficult to take it all in. Unread issues may begin to pile up.

Additionally, since the magazine is published in the U.K., Briticisms and grammatical syntaxes unfamiliar to the American reader occasionally appear.

Grab Your Copy Of The Economist Here >> 

Investor’s Business Daily (IBD)

Investor’s Business Daily might best be described as the day trader’s bible. This Los Angeles-based newspaper contains all the latest info on and analysis of stock market fluctuations.

If you’re interested in the technical analysis of index securities and buy/sell signals, this is the publication for you.

IBD offers a host of tools and apps on its website that can help simplify investing decisions.

Every Monday, Investor’s Business Daily updates its IBD 50 Index, which is a list of market-leading growth stocks generated by the founder’s proprietary algorithm and a benchmark the entire U.S. stock market relies upon.

IBD is well-known for the acumen of its in-house analysts. While it still updates the website available to subscribers on a daily basis, these days, IBD only publishes and distributes one paper copy per week.

IBD’s editorial leanings are decidedly conservative, and this bias occasionally spills over into its market analysis.

This publication assumes you already know trading concepts and does not spend time explaining them.

Grab Your Copy Of Investor’s Business Daily Here >>

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Barron’s

If you want to drill down deeply into the fundamentals of the industry and business trends that are shaping the world’s supply and demand curves, Barron’s is the go-to.

Barron’s typically tackles business trends one at a time. Each issue is devoted to an in-depth exploration of a product, issue, or industry that is currently dominating the business headlines.

This weekly publication supplements its intensive reporting with features such as:

• “Market Week,” which is a news-driven review of the previous week’s activity;
• “Barron’s Roundtable,” which features interviews with famous investors;
• “Best Online Brokers,” which rates online brokerages;
• “Top Financial Advisors,” which is a city-by-city breakdown of top financial planners; and
• “Barron’s Picks and Pans,” which is the magazine’s definitive list of the good, the bad, and the ugly in this week’s stock market.

If you’re not a Certified Financial Planner, at first, you may have a difficult time understanding what the article you’re reading in Barron’s is all about since it’s likely to be peppered with technical terms like “alpha,” “beta,” and “yield curve.”

Barron’s offers both a digital subscription and a digital-plus-print subscription.

Get Your Copy Of Barron’s Now >>

Forbes

While Forbes may be most famous for its lists of the richest individuals in various niches, the magazine and its website are also great sources for news and commentary on social, economic, and cultural issues that affect the national and global financial outlook.

Forbes’ writers understand the value of a good story. Though packed with useful financial info, the New Jersey-based biweekly’s profiles, statistical analyses, and other features are entertaining as well as edifying.

The publication is known for its investigative journalism.

In 1998, Forbes was the first to accuse journalist Stephen Glass of making up sources, and in 2010, Forbes correctly identified the runaway Prius dominating California headlines as a hoax.

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Forbes is published in 15 languages, and the magazine’s writers offer investment advice on the weekly TV show “Forbes on Fox.”

The magazine’s subscribers can also elect to have targeted investment newsletters delivered regularly to their email boxes.

It has a distinctly conservative bias which frequently finds its way into the magazine’s reporting.

One thing that may irk readers is that the magazine seldom misses an opportunity to tout the luster of its brand, and this self-promotion may get tiresome for some readers.

Every year, Forbes publishes definitive rankings of the wealthiest individuals in the U.S. and the world. It also publishes various “30 under 30” lists, recognizing Millennial influencers on several continents and in a variety of industry niches.

Get Your Copy Of Forbes Today >>

Bloomberg Businessweek

If you want to understand how current events are likely to affect your portfolio, Bloomberg Business Week is the publication to read.

Bloomberg Businessweek covers that juncture where politics and economics intersect.

The New York-based weekly was founded in 2009, when the financial data company purchased the financial weekly Businessweek.

The publication focuses on in-depth explorations of the way political and social events influence business trends, market opportunities, and best practices.

In 2014, Bloomberg Businessweek won an award for excellence from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Bloomberg Businessweek is heavy on verbiage and light on the types of charts, infographics, and visuals that are increasingly becoming Americans’ favorite ways to absorb financial information.

For a limited time, you can get either a digital or an all-access subscription to Bloomberg Businessweek for a low monthly rate.

Grab Your Bloomberg Businessweek Copy Here >>

Kiplinger’s

Kiplinger’s is an excellent magazine for anyone who wants to get smart about financial planning.

The publication especially shines when it comes to personal finance topics.

If you’re interested in achieving the financial security that will allow you to buy a home, to send your kids to college, and to achieve the retirement you’ve always dreamed about, this weekly publication will give you the guidelines you need.

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Kiplinger’s is famous for its careful research and extensive fact-checking. In addition to the magazine, the parent company also publishes daily e-newsletters on topics like taxes, credit card management, and retirement planning.

Kiplinger’s is a personal finance magazine, so if your interests are more in the realm of investment, this may not be a publication you’ll need to read regularly.

Kiplinger’s website offers an introductory deal on its print, digital, and print-plus digital first-time subscriptions.

Grab Your Copy Of Kiplinger’s Here >>

Money

If you’re new to the worlds of investing and personal finance, reading Money is a great way to increase your knowledge.

Want great tips on saving for retirement or on increasing the resale value of your home through capital improvements? You’ll find them here.

In addition to covering family finance subjects, this monthly publication offers advice on improving credit scores and avoiding financial scams.

The magazine is also known for its annual lists of “America’s Best Places to Live” and “The Best Mutual Funds.”

Money seems to be written for people with more-or-less conventional lifestyles. If you’re happily single, self-employed, or have no interest in owning a home in the suburbs, you may find very little of relevance when you peruse the magazine’s articles.

Grab Your Copy of Money Magazine Now >>

Inc.

Anyone who owns a small business and who dreams of scaling up that business will benefit from reading Inc. Its content focuses heavily on the interests of startup and small business owners.

The New York City-based weekly is chock-full of useful tips about how to lower your business’s operating costs, target your marketing, maintain your cash flow through tough times, and reduce your tax liability.

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The magazine frequently profiles the CEOs of successful companies who speak candidly about the challenges they incurred while starting and expanding their businesses.

Every year, Inc. publishes the Inc. 500, which is a list of the 500 fastest-growing small companies in the U.S.

Though Inc.’s business leader profiles are informative and fun to read, they don’t include a lot of hard-hitting statistics, infographics, or granular research.

Get Your Copy of Inc Now >>

Fortune

Fortune is a resource for beginners and seasoned investors who are intrigued by the inner workings of the business sphere.

These days, Fortune may be best known for its lists of the top 500 corporations, 1000 business movers and shakers, and best workplaces.

However, the New York City-based triweekly also publishes extremely well-researched and entertainingly-written articles about practically every aspect of the business world.

Fortune often runs theme issues such as guides to basic investment or up-close looks at a particular industry sector or niche.

The magazine is also known for its profiles of business leaders and for looks at the ways that particular companies have grown and evolved as they’ve struggled to stay relevant to changing market trends.

Fortune has gone through several owners in recent years, and those changes seem to have diluted the brand.

Though the magazine publishes many good articles that are worth reading, some readers feel as though it’s no longer delivering a consistent message.

On the magazine’s website, you can purchase a seven-issue subscription to Fortune for a low monthly and annual rate >>

Best Financial Magazines To Read:
The Bottom Line

Any one of these publications can help you stay on top of changing trends so that you can have a better idea of where to invest, and you can trust them to be reliable and helpful authorities on the market.

Consider taking advantage of their subscription discounts to sweeten the deal and get the information you need.

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