Norb Vonnegut, Wall Street Journal:
"Go for it," says compliance.
You pump your fist, charge back to your
desk and, without further ado because time is money, tweet about a hearty
Cabernet you swished and spit during a company-sponsored wine tasting.
Do you really expect to find
clients this way? What makes you think your compliant drivel will be any more
engaging than the gutless clutter all of the other financial advisers are
tossing into the Internet wasteland?
I
researched this column expecting to prove that social media is worthless for
prospecting and a dangerous time sink. One minute you're reading provocative
commentary from a thought leader. Thirty-eight minutes later you're lost on
YouTube watching a kick-ass family spat caught on an elevator camera.
(Please tweet me if you know
what Jay Z said.)
It's
not clear to me how anybody can use social media to build a financial advisory
business, especially in the high-net-worth sector. Referrals, targeted cold
calls, expert speaking engagements--that's where the action is.
But I might be wrong.
Sebastian Dovey, whose firm
Scorpio Partnership recently surveyed 3,477 wealthy people about how they use
the Internet, says, "The wealthier the individual, the more connected they
are digitally."
Determined
to keep an open mind, I recently spoke with Michael Zeuner of WE Family
Offices. His firm manages about $2.7 billion in assets for wealthy families.
Mr. Zeuner is bullish about social media, though not fanatical.
He
regards it as a channel, one of several, to teach people and provide
transparency about the markets because "the playing field has not been
leveled between advisers and investors"--that is, advisers usually have
information most other people don't. When it comes to building long-term trust
with wealthy clients, "caveat emptor" just doesn't work.
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