More asset managers turning to social media

The organisation polled 90 asset managers in Asia, Europe and the US, cumulatively representing trillions of dollars, to assess how far social media had permeated their working patterns.

Some 50 per cent of US respondents described it as a key part of their marketing strategy and something they use regularly, while only ten per cent of English asset managers gave the same response.

Furthermore, two-fifths of Asian managers within the industry do not use any form of social media, suggesting a gap could be emerging between US professionals and their counterparts in different parts of the globe.

Fidelity Personal Investing, which was one of the first retail asset managers in the UK to engage with customers via social networks, is an exception to this rule, reports eFinancial News.

Head of marketing Jonathan Hewitt said: "Fidelity shares a range of information via social media. This includes articles and videos from investment experts, tools to help investors, charitable events we support as well as special offers and new product launches."

Given how many people now use social media on a regular basis, it seems obvious that asset managers should be adapting their marketing towards platforms of this kind if they are to attract new custom and maintain their brand positioning.

And according to the survey, those asset managers that pioneered social media are now reaping the benefits in terms of building an audience - many businesses have seen their Twitter presence grow significantly over the last six months.

However, the majority of those that have succeeded have often used the public profile of an executive or board member to bulk up their offering.