Wealthy investors aren’t all that different from main street America, at least when it comes to using social media and mobile devices, an essential factor in managing the customer experience for this market sector, according to new research from the Lake Forest, Ill.-based Spectrem Group, a strategic consulting and market research firm specializing in the affluent and retirement markets.
A growing number of wealthy investors are using smart phones for talking, texting, and emailing and are spending more time on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and even Twitter. They have been especially fast to embrace tablets, the Spectrum research shows that social media has been adopted by:
• Thirty-four percent of mass affluent investors, who have at least $100,000 in net worth, not including primary residence -- nearly double from the 16 percent in June, 2011.
• Thirty-seven percent of millionaire investors, with at least $1 million in net worth, compared to 20 percent in June, 2011 and 5 percent in December, 2010.
• Forty-one percent of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) investors, with at least $5 million in assets, compared to 20 percent in June, 2011 and 5 percent in December, 2010.
“Not surprisingly, younger wealthy investors have adopted social media and mobile technologies more quickly and in greater numbers than older affluent investors, as have senior corporate executives and business owners compared to other professions. But use is increasing at all ages and occupations,” said George H. Walper, Jr., Spectrem president.
Cathy McBreen, Spectrem Group managing director, added that the best way that advisors and others can best manage the customer experience for these wealthy investors is to use social media with links to blogs or articles about investments, the economy or similar relevant information, rather than using social media for straight sales pitches. She added that Facebook is more for brand building than anything else.
“By providing [investors] with articles they might find interesting and investment tips, [financial professionals] are showing ‘I’m your financial advisor,’” McBreen added. That keeps these advisors at top of mind when the investor is ready to buy or sell another investment.
Aside from talking and texting, wealthy investors spend more time using their tablets for tasks such as paying bills and accessing financial account information than smart phones. But computers remain king, at least for now, according to Spectrem Group:
• Mass affluent investors spend 9.4 hours a week on their phones, not talking or texting, compared to 11.9 hours on their tablets and 22.8 on computers per week.
• Millionaire investors spend just under 10 hours on their phones versus more than 12 hours on their tablets and 23 hours on computers per week
• UHNW investors spend an average of seven hours on their smart phones, 12 hours on their tablets and nearly 24 hours on computers per week
“What could tip the balance to mobile devices? More relevant applications, especially finance-related ones,” Walper said. “At the top of the wealthy investors’ app wish-list is the ability to aggregate their financial information from multiple sources. Few wealthy investors rely more on social media than traditional media for financial information, but that situation is likely to shift as younger investors enter the wealthy ranks.”