Social Media Use Widespread Among Advisors, But Perception Gap Persists

By Cyril Tuohy

InsuranceNewsNet

Nearly one in two financial advisors (48 percent) interact daily with clients through social media, a sign that advisors view social media as a critical tool to help them grow their business and stay in touch with clients, according to an Accenture survey of 400 financial advisors.

The survey also found that nearly three out of four advisors (74 percent) believe social media helps them increase assets under management; and half of advisors claim to have successfully used social media to convert prospects into clients.

“Wealth management firms that fail to adopt social media will miss an opportunity to build relationships with clients on their terms,” said Alex Pigliucci, global managing director of Accenture Wealth and Asset Management Services, in a statement. “This is becoming increasingly critical as investors are demanding online resources to help them better understand investment strategy and advice.”

The survey, titled “Closing the Gap: How Tech-Savvy Advisors Can Regain Investor Trust,” also found gaps between advisors’ perception of their clients’ investment abilities and risk appetites, and how clients perceive themselves as investors.

Advisors are more than three times more likely to describe their clients as “very knowledgeable” about investing compared with investors themselves (42 percent versus 12 percent, respectively), the survey found.

Further cementing the gap, the survey also found that 1 percent of advisors describe their clients as “not knowledgeable” about investing, compared with 25 percent of investors who self-identified in this way.

Advisors are more than twice as likely to see their clients as “aggressive” investors compared with how clients see themselves (28 percent versus 13 percent, respectively). In addition, 67 percent of advisors claim to have a “personal relationship” with their clients, whereas only 38 percent of clients view this relationship as “personal.”

Advisors need to form tighter and “closer, more trusting relationships,” Pigliucci said. Digital and social media tools can help advisors do that by increasing “the frequency and quality of two-way communication with clients,” he also said.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer living in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He has also written about food, restaurants and travel. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at [email protected].