Reuters and business daily Handelsblatt are to launch a personal finance Web site for online private investors in Germany. The new venture, which is intended to go live later this year, will provide breaking financial news and analysis of company and market trends.
Based in Frankfurt, the portal will be run a by a team of journalists and analysts supported by external contributors. In addition to commenting on major quoted stocks, the Web site will focus strongly on the Neuer Markt and German IPOs. It will carry real-time news and quotes from domestic and foreign exchanges and will include functionality to enable users to manage their private portfolios.
The venture will be owned 50/50 by its two parents and profits and investment will be equally divided. Revenues will be derived from advertising, sponsorship, syndication and transactions. Mark Wood, managing director, Reuters Content Partners, and Heinz-Werner Nienstedt, chief executive of the Handelsblatt Group, will alternate as chairmen.
With over a million active users accessing online brokerages, Germany is Europe's biggest online investor market and has shown the fastest growth over the past year. The Web site's target of online users interested in personal finance is estimated to number some five million. This is expected to grow to more than nine million in the next five years.