Nearly 70% of affluent investors who use social media specifically for financial and investing information have reallocated investments or have started or changed their relationship with investment providers based on content they’ve received through those channels, a report from Cogent Research found. Even so, most investors rely on multiple sources for information, the report, released Feb. 22, noted.
The report found 34% of affluent investors use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogs for information on personal finance and investing.
Investors who use social media for financial and investing reasons are using it to form first impressions about firms and to guide their decisions about whether to use the firm’s products, according to Cogent.
Remy Morrison, project director for Cogent and a co-author of the report, told AdvisorOne on Monday that in addition to using social media for help choosing particular investments or companies, investors are using it to examine a wide range of topics, including market conditions, retirement planning and investment performance.
They also use Facebook and Twitter to double check what their advisors are telling them, he added.