Effective May 2, Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) will reduce its print schedule from five issues a week to just one. According to the March 3 announcement, the new and improved weekly edition will include “innovative and enhanced features to help investors prepare for the week ahead, while leveraging influential and powerful features like the IBD 50 and The Big Picture.”

This reduction will allow IBD to shift its resources from its print operation to the digital side of the house and will include publishing more premium content on its newly revamped, mobile-optimized Investors.com and through digital subscription products.

“Our business model transformation will provide subscribers with more diverse offerings while staying core to our mission and this provides further value to our partners and advertisers. We are executing this strategy from a position of strength by providing customers with what they are seeking, and it will increase profitability along the way,” said IBD president Jerry Ferrara.

In an interview with Folio, Ferrara said that other publications are reducing their print schedules, so they are being proactive with this move, allowing the company to “grow profitability and stay focused for long-term success.” Ferrara also told Folio that more than half of the company’s total revenue comes from its digital products.

IBD, a leading and financial news and research organization, was one of the first publishers to successfully charge for digital content using a paywall in the early 2000s. The company’s focus stretches beyond its website with learning tools, analysis, investment workshops and other premium products geared toward supporting investors at all stages of their investment life.

“Our revamped strategy will allow our content creators to engage with subscribers and readers like never before and this underscores our mission of helping investors make more money in the markets,” said Chris Gessel, Chief Content Officer, in the IBD announcement.

In addition to reducing its print schedule, IBD is working on several mobile-first products to be launched over the next 12 months. IBD did not disclose what those products would be or how they will differ from its current offerings.

Insider Take:

It is an interesting change to go from a daily paper to a weekly one, but it makes a lot of sense, particularly for a financially-focused publication. Investors want up-to-the-minute information and analysis, and that’s something a print edition will never be able to deliver. With more than half of its revenue coming from digital, it is smart for IBD to turn its focus toward digital, and as a profitable company, it has the luxury of doing so from a solid position.

One thing that strikes us is that IBD has revamped its website, optimizing it for mobile rather than designing something specifically for mobile. We will be curious to see how its mobile traffic changes and what its new mobile-first products – apps? – will look like. Will they be free or subscription products, and will the company’s subscription prices change? With tests and trials and lessons to be learned, it should be an interesting year for IBD.