The Web Development Series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here. A new app called Vizualize.me will instantly turn your LinkedIn profile into a stunning infographic, all through the power of code — no graphic design skill…
The world of the financial professional is becoming more challenging. With economic collapse across the world and industry scandals, investors increasingly demand more transparency and control of their portfolio and are turning to IFAs for that personal touch. An article in Barron’s entitled “The Indie Challenge” caught my attention. It says: “Life is never easy for independent financial advisors” and cites commentary from IFAs detailing their challenges. I realized, while reading this very interesting article, the reason why I developed linkedFA. By using linkedFA, FAs present a unified and professional face to their clients demonstrating their business integrity and industry expertise; enhancing reputation and investor confidence. But more importantly, through FAs direct feedback, we’ve been able to tailor our site to meet their needs. Essentially, FAs on linkedFA are revolutionizing the way financial professionals communicate, and are providing a unified voice for the independents.
In that spirit of collaborative effort, I encourage financial professionals, especially independents, to stand up and be heard by helping us build a stellar online community. linkedFA is free and FINRA-compliant. I would also like to remind everyone that professional-to-professional communications are NOT regulated, so sign up and tell us what you think!
asitnick asked: Can I get email updates of your blog? Thanks!
yes - shoot me your email @ johnbishara@linkedfa.com - unless you know how to do it via tumblr
The debate around the use of social media for the financial community prevails in both the industry and the financial media. How to harness the power of this tool to interact with clients and grow business while adhering to compliance concerns and ensuring reputation management is an ongoing debate. A couple of articles sparked my interest this week. Financial Planning magazine, in their article published 29 November entitled ‘Harnessing Social Media’ refer to a study by Aite Group which addresses the ways for FAs to harness social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. They report, “While social media will not make sense in all organizations, more possibilities are opening up as the technology evolves. With 266 million users in North America, the Internet and social media have become a significant part of the financial services landscape.”
According to Aite’s findings: “While 87% of Gen Y (between 18-32 years old) and 82% of Gen X (33-44) are Internet users, a whopping 79% of younger boomers between 45 and 54 are on the Internet. Across all age groups the percentage of individuals who use email is 90% or higher, 20% of younger boomers use some sort of social networking tool and 70% of younger boomers get their news from the Internet.” The report suggests that, on the institutional side, social media is more relevant. It says: “It’s no surprise that many CCOs simply prefer to avoid the issue altogether. With time, however, the industry, aided by technological automation, will develop a means to accommodate behavior and intent through proper procedures and validation.”
Canada’s Investment Executive also covered the topic in an article entitled ‘Shifting demographics will have advisors serving a younger generation… Embracing technology will be particularly important’ claiming that, Advisors are facing a client base that is rapidly changing with aging clients beginning to retire and younger generations seeking out advice. They claim: “Generation Y is set to move into the workforce in a major way in the next decade. By 2020 Generation Y would make up 70% of the workforce, while aging baby boomers will comprise just 40%. As a result, advisors must cater their services to this younger generation, which tends to value transparency, efficiency, technology and convenience.” Investment Executive, referring to Executives at Univeris Corp, says that advisors are expected to increasingly embrace tools such as tablet computers, smart phones, social networking and Skype video conferencing in their day-to-day operations, a significant shift from the traditional methods.
I’ve worked in the financial services industry for the majority of my career and understand that, while face- to-face and traditional communications are imperative, as technology and social media and becomes part of the fabric of our communication with clients, we must embrace the tools in a compliant manner and leverage this powerful tool to grow business, increase customer confidence in financial decisions and, ultimately, make money!
