Build the claim ledger
Write each material statement as a row: exact claim, speaker, period, underlying document, independent corroboration, and unresolved qualification. For a performance figure, record whether it is gross or net, personal or client, realised or modelled. A compelling quote may remain in a feature, but it must not become a verified fact merely by appearing twice.
Use proportional language
A competition result supports a claim about that division and period. It does not support a claim about all market conditions. A broker statement may support account arithmetic but still leave custody, omitted accounts or trade selection unresolved. Editorial phrasing should narrow to the evidence rather than widen the evidence to fit the headline.
Why this belongs in a magazine
Profiles are narratives, but readers make real decisions from them. This sheet makes the reporting trail visible without pretending every subject can be audited to the same level. Corrections should identify the original sentence, the new evidence and the precise change, so the archive remains interpretable.
Evidence and editorial standards at Financial Trader Magazine