Understanding the Social Landscape of Discussion for Financial Advisors

September 27, 2021

Financial Services

Key Takeaways

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Discussions and conversations around financial advising are happening in three main ways online through sharing content on Facebook and producing content for YouTube and Twitter.

Repurposing Content: When looking at articles and videos posted online, the top channels seeing consistent shares from viewers are Facebook and Twitter.

Financial Content Engagement: When it comes to three financial keywords: asset allocation, impact investing and fixed income, readers are engaging the most with content written in about 2K to 10K words and posted as either a video, answer to a question or how to article. Common questions around these keywords focus on asking for advice on specific client types, looking for precedent in other investments and deeper understanding around financial topics.

Financial Content Creation — YouTube: Certified financial professionals are seeing more success on content related to timely trading news as opposed to talking directly to advisors about their strategies.

Financial Content Creation — Twitter: Certified financial professionals on Twitter have diverse interests often hosting their own financial blogs and podcasts. Twitter content is more directed at talking to advisors about their strategies and bigger picture thinking for clients best interests.

Financial Content Creation — reddit: Top all time threads for these channels focus on how to attract and maintain clients and feature other prospective advisors looking for advice about getting into the industry.

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Discussions and conversations around financial advising are happening in three main ways online:

1. Sharing US & Global Based Financial Content

Financial advisor-based content posted to YouTube or as an article based on the terms “asset allocation”, “impact investing” and “fixed income” have seen the most shares across Facebook.

“Asset allocation” presence online:

Top Questions Asked:

How do Gen Z investors differ in their asset allocation and risk tolerance, compared to previous generations?
How to maintain your portfolio asset allocation in a DCA strategy?
What should Asset Allocation be for a Retired Parent?
What are your go-to asset allocations?
Why is Robust Allocation a worthwhile problem?

Preferred Topics & Content Length:

Highest Engaged Shared Content Length: 3K-10K words

Asset Allocation Relevant Highly Mentioned Topics:

resource allocation
asset management
tactical asset allocation
dynamic asset allocation
etfs
brokerage
risk tolerance
mutual funds

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The top shared media in the USA from September 2020-2021 ranking for “Asset Allocation” includes:

Post #1, Post #2, Post #3, Post #4, Post #5

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The top shared media globally from September 2020-2021 ranking for “Asset Allocation” includes:

Video #1, Video #2, Video #3, Video #4, Video #5

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“Impact investing” presence online:

Top Questions Asked:

How does regulation impact corporate digital asset investments?
How did the inflation during 70s impact corporate dividends?
Why are impact investing and crypto mutually beneficial?
What is the impact of fintech on traditional investing?
What project you are invested in that you think will impact the world in a positive way?

Preferred Topics & Content Length:

Highest Engaged Shared Content Length: 2K-3K words

Asset Allocation Relevant Highly Mentioned Topics:

economics of investing
social impact
socially responsible investing
social business
bond investing
impact of brexit
private investment
angel investors

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The top shared media in the USA from September 2020-2021 ranking for “Impact Investing” includes:

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The top shared media globally from September 2020-2021 ranking for “Impact Investing” includes:

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“Fixed income” presence online:

Top Questions Asked:

How to conceptualise Fixed Income Instruments & determine their dividend yields?
Why is an FRN price equal to par on every reset date?
What metrics to evaluate a Rates /Fixed Income Macro strategy?
What explains bond “convenience yields”?
What % of your household’s gross income goes into mortgage (interest + principal) or rent, insurance?

Preferred Topics & Content Length:

Highest Engaged Shared Content Length: 2K-3K words

Asset Allocation Relevant Highly Mentioned Topics

bond yields
fixed deposits
bond & fixed income
social corporate bonds
duration
quantitative finance
floating rate
distressed debt

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The top shared media in the USA from September 2020-2021 ranking for “Fixed Income” includes:

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The top shared media globally from September 2020-2021 ranking for “Fixed Income” includes:

2. Financial Advisors on YouTube

In the USA, there are many YouTube creators posting videos about financial advising and the stock market.

While there are many financial advice accounts on YouTube, most are not certified professionals and make content out of self-learning. Financial professionals with a majority audience from the USA include:

Stock Moe, Mike Jones Investing, JT Wealth, Stock Curry

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The advisors’ videos with highest comments and engagement focus on current events in the stock market as opposed to speaking directly to other advisors on how to manage different client situations and best practices.

Stock Moe: STOCK MARKET CRASH UPDATE With SBE STOCK MERGER NEWS And CCIV Stock Price Update

Views: 106K | ER30: 4x

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Mike Jones Investing: A Penny Stock That Could 3X!? + 2 Major Announcements - Stocks I’m Buying NOW!

Views: 16.3K | ER30: 10x

JT Wealth:The Penny Stock Analysts Think Could SOAR over 1000%!! Buy Now??

Views: 367K | ER30: 2.6x

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Stock Curry: CCIV, ABML, IDEX, NNDM - Top 10 YouTuber Stock Picks for Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Views: 19.5K | ER30: 7.1x

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Top comments include viewers sharing their personal experiences with trading and investment experimentation:

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Viewer comments also address questions viewers have about different assets and financial ideas:

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Viewers tend to comment about references to external factors such as macroeconomics and external sources such as Bloomberg TV and their effects on financial markets.

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Viewers of financial professionals are also highly likely to engage with content by the following creators:

‍STOCK UP! with LARRY JONES # of Subscribers: 386K‍
Chris Sain # of Subscribers: 468K‍
Kenan Grace # of Subscribers: 339K‍
NIO Trending # of Subscribers: 10.2K‍
Stealth Wealth Investing # of Subscribers: 76.1K‍
Meet Kevin # of Subscribers: 1.7M

3. Financial Advisor Influencers on Twitter

Certified financial advisors in the USA and globally exist on Twitter to discuss advising techniques and frameworks.

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Top certified and active financial advisors on Twitter include a niche group of creators who generally have their own financial podcasts or blogs in addition to their Twitter accounts:

‍@MichaelKitces # of Twitter Followers: 62.7K‍
@wealth_mgmt # of Twitter Followers: 53.6K‍
@RunnymedeCap # of Twitter Followers: 7.6K‍
@Roger_whitney # of Twitter Followers: 3.5K‍
@SteveSanduski # of Twitter Followers: 3.1K‍
@TracyAGoodwin # of Twitter Followers: 2.5K‍
@finance_therapy # of Twitter Followers: 2.4K‍
@Kate_Holmes # of Twitter Followers: 2.1K‍
@jlittlechild # of Twitter Followers: 2.1K‍
@jasonpereira # of Twitter Followers: 1.5K

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Jason Pereira and Michael Kitces saw the top engagement on their tweets from January to August 2021, which range from communicating with clients to understanding asset class risk.

The 40k tax-free First Home Savings Account.

There is so much wrong with this concept it requires its own thread. 🧵 👇
— Jason Pereira (@jasonpereira) August 25, 2021

Engagement: 658

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People need to start becoming more concerned by the size of their personal debt, and not just the interest rate.
— Jason Pereira (@jasonpereira) July 5, 2021

Engagement: 194

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Pretty cool visualization via @Riskalyze of the risk of various asset classes. (Number in the upper left of each box is Risk Number rating.)

"Periodic Table of Asset Classes" https://t.co/gsFLMvkzWA pic.twitter.com/KWAzTPH0B8
— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) July 10, 2021

Engagement: 179

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#Advicer Question: are you producing any kind of annual report/summary/deliverable to clients to demonstrate all the 'stuff' you did for them (e.g., the value provided) throughout the year?

If so, what do you use to produce, & would you be willing to share it w/ other advicers?
— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) August 19, 2021

Engagement: 128

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Michael Kitces focuses heavily on asking questions to advisors about their training, purpose and diversification of customer portfolios.

Advisor w/ CFA working on CFP makes the case that CFP is harder than CFA.

I think it's really a mindset difference. CFA is a mile deep, CFP is a mile wide. Either can be challenging. Depends how your brain leans?

"Which is Harder – the CFA or CFP Exam?" https://t.co/nxwgef4PqE
— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) August 6, 2021

Engagement: 90

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Dear Asset Managers,
It's not about whether you offer as a mutual fund or ETF. It's that we're not your distribution force anymore. We sit on the client's side of the table now.
Sincerely,
Financial Advisors

"Mutual fund assets decline again in 2020" https://t.co/OOLRFrFVzl
— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) January 22, 2021

Engagement: 66

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A Hierarchy Of The Value A Financial Advisor Provides - https://t.co/vMWfjig7Hh pic.twitter.com/Mj85lyEwce
— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) February 20, 2021

Engagement: 61

Why Most Retirees Will Never Draw Down Their Retirement Portfolio - https://t.co/LxFxdkbsnL pic.twitter.com/E1IaWb1tCv
— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) April 2, 2021

Engagement: 50

4. Financial Advisors on reddit

Micro-subreddits exist where advisors engage in conversations about challenges and strategies that work for obtaining and serving clients.

reddit hosts many financial forums where users discuss stocks, crypto and personal investing. Currently, there are three subreddits geared towards financial advisors.

Tips, Coaching, and Advice for Financial Advisors

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Top all time threads for these channels focus on how to attract and maintain clients and feature other prospective advisors looking for advice about getting into the industry.