Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is set to become the first big American wealth manager to let its brokers use Twitter, although each message will have to be pre-approved by the firms.
From next month 600 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney advisers will be able to tweet research and content as long as they clear them first, says Reuters, citing an internal memo on the subject.
The staff are also being allowed to use LinkedIn although they cannot "recommend" themselves or other financial advisers or be recommended.
The Morgan Stanley Smith Barney elite "Chairman's Club" brokers and about 100 advisers who have been testing LinkedIn are in the group of 600, with the programme set to be expanded to the firm's entire 17,800-strong workforce within six months.
US regulatory body Finra issued guidance last year on the use of social networking Web sites to communicate with the public so Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is installing technology to capture and retain all the communications, says the memo.
Here's the full text of the memo circulated by MSSB head of wealth management Andy Saperstein:
I am excited to announce that MSSB will begin a staged roll-out for Advisors to use Social Media. We are the first major wealth management firm to announce a vendor solution for our Advisors to use key social networking sites to market themselves and share the firm’s intellectual content, while complying with regulatory requirements.
Over the last few years, the emergence of Social Media has changed the way in which people communicate with each other, and companies interact with clients. MSSB is embracing how Social Media is changing communication and is at the forefront of the industry in how we are incorporating it into our business strategy.
In the coming weeks, Morgan Stanley will implement a technology solution that will capture and retain all communications on approved social networking sites to comply with regulatory requirements. This technology will enable MSSB Advisors to fully leverage the power of social networking sites in a compliant way.
In addition to the compliance component, we will also have a tool for Advisors to distribute Firm approved research and content, providing you with a powerful way to share our unique intellectual content with clients and prospects. You will have the ability, with the click of a button, to share pre-approved “status updates” or “tweets” with your social and professional networks.
The initiative will launch in late June and will initially include approximately 600 Advisors firmwide who will have access to LinkedIn and partial use of Twitter. This first group includes our Chairman’s Club members and many others who have been working with us for the past year to get to this solution. We expect to open it up to the rest of the Field within 6 months.
For those participating in the initial roll-out, shortly you will receive an email from Lauren Boyman with more details on training and how to get started by getting your profiles approved.
This roll-out will continue our recent history of innovative communications strategies, including being the first firm to introduce an internal social networking site for Financial Advisors (Advisor Insights) and the first to introduce texting capabilities. Also, building on this momentum, later this summer the GIC will present an iPad application that was recently piloted with positive feedback. The app brings GIC’s On The Markets to you in a digital and interactive format to help you engage with clients.
MSSB is committed to continue leading our competition in innovation. This will be a significant competitive advantage. We look forward to getting your feedback as this very important initiative progresses.