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Another Important Reason for Asset Managers to Cultivate a Presence Online

by Drew Maniglia

As a part of my work on FA Vision, I have recently had an opportunity to look back at the "What Advisors Do Online" survey from 2009. I came across some interesting insights that help put to bed the commonly held belief that those advisors who frequent the Web represent a lower value group. This is a notion that I had heard questioned in several conversations, and I wanted to see if it was true.

In 2009, kasina conducted its "What Advisors Do Online" survey and the respondents had AUM ranging from $1MM to $5 BN, with the overall sample average at $120 MM AUM. The one hundred advisors with the most assets under management (the top quintile by AUM) had an average of $443 MM AUM. Trends focusing on these top one hundred advisors reveal that top producing advisors are indeed frequenting the Web to the same, and in some cases to a greater extent than the average advisor. Of these one hundred top producers, 45% reported visiting LinkedIn, and 42% claimed to use YouTube. In addition to these social media sites, top value advisors are also visiting industry specific sites like Morningstar, Ignites, and asset managers' sites - of the top 100 advisors, 75% visit asset managers' public Web sites, and 91% visit asset managers' advisor Websites. Furthermore, advisors who visit Morningstar.com on a daily basis have average AUM over 90% higher than those who visit the site with less frequency. All of this suggests that high level advisors are quite active on the internet.

I think this is useful for asset managers to internalize. Asset managers have access to a valuable cross section of clients and prospects online, so there should be a strong incentive to focus on Web strategy and cultivate a presence everywhere from LinkedIn to standard industry sites. In doing so, firms will be reaching out to some very worthwhile advisors.