Iona Bain is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, speaker and author, and is the UK’s go-to voice on millennial money. Since founding the pioneering Young Money Blog in 2011, she’s gone on to become one of the most respected financial writers of her generation, with a rare combination of accessibility and authority.
Previously a musician, Iona founded Young Money Blog to help her generation get to grips with their finances. Fuelled by personal brushes with fraud and burglary, Iona quickly found an audience with her down-to-earth, witty and helpful analysis of the financial problems facing millennials. Iona is also a staple of online youth and female-focused media, with recent contributions to VICE UK, British Vogue and Refinery 29.
Iona’s empathetic approach has propelled her towards regular punditry on BBC programmes including Morning Live, NewsNight, Question Time and the One Show. She’s also Radio 1’s Money Hacker in residence for the flagship advice programme Life Hacks. Iona has been flying the flag for young people’s financial rights on the airwaves for 10 years, and is a roving financial reporter for Steph’s Packed Lunch. Podcast appearances range from the Spectator’s flagship Edition show to Free the Geezer with rap group The Manor, demonstrating Iona’s versatility.
Iona writes a weekly column for the i paper, and is a regular contributor to the Financial Times. Her journalism and commentary have appeared extensively in both national and regional titles, including the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Independent and the New Statesman, and Iona's book 'Own It!' is all about how young people can invest their way to a better future.
Iona is particularly proud of her educational work, having collaborated with BBC Bitesize to produce a series of educational videos and working with Lloyds Banking Academy on the Your Future Finances initiative, the first educational programme in the UK to be fully sign language enabled. She is also the youngest-ever governor of the Pensions Policy Institute.