Fools, thank you all for “registering your interest” in Motley Fool Scotland and the Scottish Independent Investor service… it’s been very entertaining reading your responses, but we can now reveal that this was indeed an April Fool’s joke! We wish Scotland all the best for the future no matter what the result of the independence referendum.
Were you part of the 43% who figured it out? If so, what gave it away? Did you spot the Braveheart quotes in the subheads? Let us know at [email protected]!
Today, we are thrilled to announce the forthcoming launch of a brand-new Motley Fool website!
Yes, on Friday 19th September 2014, one day after the referendum on Scottish independence, we will unveil Motley Fool Scotland!
You see, we’ve debated the political and economic pros and cons extensively here at Fool HQ…
… And to cut a long story short, we’ve concluded that the YES vote has indisputable investment and financial advantages for the population of Scotland.
That’s because an independent Scotland will be well placed to become an economic powerhouse, since it will get control of over 90% of the tax revenue from North Sea oil and will also be free of much, if not all, of its share of the UK’s national debt. Once Scotland doesn’t have to subsidise the rest of the UK, it’ll be set to financially eclipse England, Wales & Northern Ireland.
It’s our wits that make us men
To register your interest in our new Scottish share-tipping service, simply drop an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Scottish share tips’ and we will put you on the list.
The first 100 applicants will have the limited-chance offer to become a Founder Member of the Scottish Independent Investor — which will provide special discounts and unique extras over and above the standard subscription option.
We’ll send you more details on the Founder Memberships by e-mail when we have them — for now, simply register your interest at the above e-mail address.
As we expect huge interest north of Hadrian’s Wall, Founder Members will have the chance to influence the development and direction of The Motley Fool’s Scottish Independent Investor — again, more on that to follow.
Finally, a full list of Scottish companies that will be covered by Fool Scotland will be finalised in early September and announced on Fool UK prior to the website split.
Aye, that’s a “Yes”
While we’re thrilled to be launching Fool Scotland to help the residents of Scotland invest better, it does mean some changes for the Fool UK website.
Here’s what we’re planning from 19th September onwards.
- Articles on the residual Fool.co.uk site will no longer cover Scottish companies such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Cairn Energy, SSE, Standard Life, Aberdeen Asset Management and Personal Assets Trust.
- Instead, there will be rolling news of Scottish company and business on the new Fool Scotland website. Plus, minute-by-minute share-price analysis and updates by our very own ‘stock jocks’.
- We’ll publish a groundbreaking multi-part special into RBS, which will investigate the bank’s 2013 annual report, balance sheet and accounting notes in thorough detail.
- We’ll introduce new free reports for Fool Scotland covering sectors such as North Sea oil and whisky production, as well as an innovative Celtic vs Rangers financial ‘head-to-head’.
- Additionally, the discussion boards will be split between Fool UK and the new Scottish site, depending on the share’s HQ location.
- We’re currently in discussions with the major telecom groups to establish visitor IP locations. Users based in Scotland will have their Fool.co.uk usernames and login details transferred automatically to the new Fool Scotland site.
We are deeply excited about Fool Scotland, as we believe it can be the go-to source for information on topics such as the risk of re-headquartering of Scottish companies, currency exchange issues, the re-opening of the Glasgow Stock Exchange and how Scotland would cope with the flood of economic migrants arriving from what’s left of the UK.
Your heart is free… have the courage to follow it
If you are a paying Fool customer, then please note: we will split our current premium share-tip services — Champion Shares PRO and Share Advisor — on 19th September, too.
We’re going to introduce a new paid-for share-tip service purely for Fool Scotland, price in euros, which we’ve initially entitled The Motley Fool’s Scottish Independent Investor.
This new service will, of course, be aimed purely at a Scottish audience, and cover top-quality Scottish shares such as RBS, Edinburgh Investment Trust and AG Barr as well as less-well-known stocks from north of the border such as Highland Gold Mining, McBride, McKay Securities, McColl Retail, Braveheart Investment and Scotgold Resources.
However, The Scottish Independent Investor will be a ‘go anywhere’ service, and thus will be able to recommend foreign English companies if they have a strong presence in Scotland.
We should clarify that Scottish companies already recommended by Share Advisor and Champion Shares PRO will remain in those services for the time being.
The key to the door of Scotland
While extremely exciting, the launch of Fool Scotland will involve a lot of editorial, administrative and technical changes here at Fool HQ between now and 19th September.
Of course, we want everything to go as smoothly as possible, and we want to deliver the Scottish service YOU want.
So with 172 days to go before Fool Scotland splits from Fool.co.uk, this is your UNIQUE chance to shape our new websites.
First and foremost, if you think you can come up with a phrase that better suits the Fool’s motto to ‘educate, amuse and enrich’ — while combining with the rich financial heritage of Scotland — then please e-mail with your name and suggestions to [email protected] with the subject title ‘motto competition’. We will accept Gaelic entries.
The winner will be announced on 19th September and receive a FREE 6-month introductory membership to The Motley Fool’s Scottish Independent Investor.
I hope you are as excited as us in the prospects for Fool Scotland. We believe it promises to be a rich and rewarding experience for the resident of Scotland and one that could transform the population’s future wealth for many years to come. Just let us know at [email protected] if you want any more information.
