Erdos & Morgan is proud to release the 2020 Financial Advisor Media Outlook and Usage Study (FAMOUS). This distinctive annual study regarding the Financial Advisors (FA) market provides unique insights into the thought process and preferences of Financial Advisors with regard to their media consumption and knowledge of ETFs and Fund Families within the professional investment community.
Our sample starts with combined databases of Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) and Registered Representatives. Financial Advisors are then selected as the initial sample source. Then, this initial sample source was cross-referenced to the SEC database to form the final sample. The study is projectable to the 455,581 individuals reported in SEC FormADV who perform an investment advisory function.
2020 has been a unique and unprecedented time. The study is typically conducted utilizing a combination of mail and online methodologies. Due to the instability the pandemic caused to the workplace, we decided to forgo the mail portion of the study. This decision was based upon the survey typically being mailed to advisors’ offices. Nonetheless, the study results remain extremely accurate with a margin of error of less than 1%.
“Tracking financial media consumption among FAs is the cornerstone of our FAMOUS study,” said David March, Chief Revenue Officer at Erdos & Morgan. “This study enables fund families and advertising agencies to target their promotional efforts in the most efficient and effective way. Fund families can now ascertain who is using/recommending which funds and incorporate that information into their media planning process. The study also provides media brands with the ability to demonstrate their overall reach and within specific segments of the FA market. In addition to media consumption, the study provides a multifaceted profile of FAs that goes beyond basic demographic information. It includes variables such as AUM, work setting and the role of the FA in the client/FA relationship so that targeting efforts can really drill down to the most indispensable type of FA for each client.”
There is also a question designed to ascertain if the respondent is more involved in creating the portfolio (technical side) vs. those that are more engaged as the client interface (client focused). This is another tool used to segment the FA audience to aid targeted promotional efforts.
The most often financial advice clients sought within the past 6 months includes:
| Retirement planning | 94% |
| Financial planning | 89% |
| Portfolio management | 89% |
Included in the profile are investment options available, use and knowledge of various types of ETFs, awareness and perception of approximately 50 different fund families, compensation models, type of clients (high net worth, individual, institutional) and certifications.
In terms of media outlook and usages, the current FAMOUS study takes a comprehensive approach to measuring media. This approach allows for a synergistic analysis of a media brand across different platforms. There are approximately: 30 different publications, 50 different websites, 10 different networks with over 35 individual programs and 7 social media sites measured in the study. For social media, FAs were asked which if any they use professionally vs. personally. This study also evaluates mobile media as it relates to the use of applications (APPs) on smartphones and tablets.
Media brands measured by network, print and/or digital platforms include:
Advisor Perspectives, AdvisorHub, Apple News, Barron’s, BBC World News, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Markets, Business Insider, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, Financial Advisor, Financial Planning, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, FOX Business Network, FOX News Channel, Google Finance, Harvard Business Review, Institutional Investor, Investment Advisor, InvestmentNews, Investopedia, Investor’s Business Daily, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, MarketWatch, Morningstar, Morningstar Advisor, Morningstar Magazine, Motley Fool, MSNBC, Nerd’s Eye View at Kitces, On Wall Street, PBS, Pensions & Investments, PLAN ADVISER, PLANSPONSOR, Private Wealth, Reuters, RIABiz, Seeking Alpha, The Business Journals, The Economist, The Journal of Financial Planning, The New York Times, The Street, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Wealth Advisor, ThinkAdvisor, Trusts & Estates, US News & World Report, USA Today, WealthManagement and Yahoo! Finance.
Fund families include:
Alliance Bernstein, Allianz Global Investors, American Century Investments, American Funds, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Columbia Threadneedle, Dimensional Investing, Dodge & Cox, Eaton Vance, Federated Hermes, Fidelity, First Eagle Funds, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Investments, Invesco, Janus Henderson, John Hancock Funds, JPMorgan, Legg Mason, Loomis Sayles, Lord Abbett, Marsico Funds Matthews Asia, MFS Investment Management, Nationwide, Natixis Global, Nuveen, OppenheimerFunds, Pimco Funds, Principal Financial Group, Prudential, Putnam Investments, Russell Investments, State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), Stoxx, T. Rowe Price, TCW, TD Ameritrade, The Hartford, Thompson IM Funds, TIAA, Touchstone Investments, Transamerica, Van Eck Vanguard, Wells Fargo and WisdomTree.
About Erdos & Morgan
Erdos & Morgan has been a leader in media market research for over 70 years, offering a wide range of full-service custom market research capabilities and syndicated research. Erdos & Morgan, as a subsidiary of Beta Research, is certified as a women’s business enterprise through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Custom research is conducted among Financial Advisors, C-Suite Executives and High Net Worth Individuals utilizing both quantitative and qualitative techniques including online, mail, telephone, mobile, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and other statistically sound methods. Subscriber and media brand usage studies, advertising tracking studies, brand image and awareness studies are also conducted.
For more information about the 2020 Financial Advisor Media Outlook and Usage Study (FAMOUS), Opinion Leaders Study or custom research services from Erdos & Morgan, please contact David March at 201.236.0469 or dmarch@erdosmorgan.com.
