Published by Chris McNeil on 30 Jun 2009
This morning we took the opportunity to drop in on an Ignites webinar called “Social Media’s Role for Mutual Funds.” While the presentation did not focus specifically on the fund industry, it offered a number of useful takeaways for any financial services firm looking to dip their toe into the social media waters. Continue Reading »
Published by Alan Maginn on 24 Jun 2009
Recently, I’ve noticed that a lot of consultants seem to be hosting webinars to help financial advisors understand how to leverage social communities like Twitter and Linked-In to build their businesses. While these webinars might be useful to those who are new to social media, most address only the most basic aspects of these different platforms. Many gloss over the regulatory risk inherent to these tools. I found this somewhat disturbing since many of the financial institutions we’re in contact with have cited FINRA rules as a barrier, if not the barrier, to their adoption of a social media strategy.
On Sunday, Investment News published an interesting article entitled, “A Warning Before You Twitter,” addressing the compliance issues advisors face when participating on these sites. Reiterating many of the same concerns we’ve heard from our clients, the article suggests that, while it may be possible for advisors to use these tools in a responsible and legal fashion, pre-approval requirements make spontaneous communication difficult, which detracts from the value of participation.
That’s not to say that financial institutions can’t benefit from social media - hardly; we presented several success stories in our Social Media report recently. Still, firms must tread carefully, considering the compliance implications every step of the way as they develop and implement their social media strategy. Industry consultants and the firms they serve cannot turn a blind eye to these issues.
Published by Chris McNeil on 08 Jun 2009
Over the past few years, Corporate Insight has received several requests to evaluate the online educational capabilities of retail financial services firms. As a result, we’ve conducted a number of custom research studies on the subject. This year, we even added an entire category to the Brokerage Website Audit devoted to Investor Education to reflect the increasing importance of good education as a competitive differentiator.
