Source: Fidelity
New Fidelity research finds that emerging affluent investors are nearly twice as likely as millionaires to find a new financial advisor through internet research and more likely than millionaires to find a new advisor through social media.
In response to those findings, Fidelity Clearing and Custody, the division of Fidelity Investments® that provides clearing and custody to registered investment advisors (RIAs), retirement recordkeepers, broker-dealer firms, banks and insurance companies, today announced two new offerings designed to help advisors improve their online presence through effective social media strategies and compelling videos. The first is a strategic alliance with GuideVine, a digital platform which features a website for investors who are looking for a financial advisor online and gives them the ability to “meet” advisors by watching videos of them, viewing their firm’s profile and digitally interacting with them. The second is an expansion of Fidelity’s Office of the Future on its Smithfield, Rhode Island campus: the newly opened Video Lab features all of the components an advisor needs to create videos for their firm’s website, social media channels and client communications.
And recent Fidelity research finds that 58 percent of emerging affluent investors have a significantly more positive impression of financial advisors who have a good website. In addition, 38 percent of those investors follow their advisor on social media sites and 30 percent of them say that they’re more likely to relate to a financial advisor that has a social media presence.2
“Advisors need to know that if their firm doesn’t have an online presence and isn’t communicating with clients and prospects through video and social media, they could risk becoming irrelevant because they’re not connecting to the next generation of investors,” said David Canter, executive vice president, practice management and consulting, Fidelity Clearing and Custody.
“Our goal with providing advisors this information is to make it easy for them to get started. These tools are a natural extension of what they’re doing in the real world every day: educating and engaging with clients and prospects.”
New Alliance with GuideVine Can Help Advisors Showcase Their Firms Online to Prospects
Recognizing the increasing number of investors who look for a financial advisor online, Fidelity is announcing a strategic alliance with GuideVine, an online platform which gives advisors the opportunity to showcase their practice to potential clients. Through this strategic alliance, advisors who work with Fidelity will have access to a discounted rate to share their firm story through videos produced by GuideVine. GuideVine will conduct a review of the firm and the firm’s digital platforms and online presence; following that analysis, GuideVine will help advisors create compelling videos and a comprehensive firm profile that will be featured on GuideVine’s website. The goal of this offering is to help enhance an interested firm’s online presence, help drive prospects to the firm through GuideVine’s platform and help improve the firm’s search engine optimization.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Fidelity, and to help support the advisors they work with,” said Raghav Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Guidevine. “Our intuitive platform, with its deep array of tools and site features, helps demystify and personalize the process for investors, highlights advisors' experience, expertise and personal style, and allows investors to confidently gain insight and comfort with potential ‘fits’ and the right financial advisor for them.”
Fidelity’s Office of the Future Introduces Video Lab
To help advisors that may want to take a DIY approach to creating videos to communicate with clients and prospects online, Fidelity has expanded its Office of the Future with new video technology capabilities. The Office of the Future is a physical space on the Smithfield, Rhode Island campus, as well as an online interactive experience, for financial advisors to experiment with some of the latest technologies poised to transform the financial advice industry. The office opened with the promise of constantly adding new technologies to the space. The new Video Lab offers advisors a look at what it requires for a firm to get up and running to create videos in-house. The basic equipment and software, including a video camera, sound-enhancing microphone, green screen, lighting equipment, iPad™ compatible teleprompter and editing software, can be acquired for less than $10003.