By John Drachman, Financial Writer

Still another social media study offers proof that advisors, investors, and institutions are increasing their social media participation.

Study: Advisors turn to social media in greater numbers

According to a 2011 survey by American Century Investments, 71% of advisors had a personal or business Facebook profile and 55% are now on LinkedIn.

It’s the RIA world though that’s embracing social media the most.

MSNBC reports that Cambridge Investment Research unleashed the power of social networking to its advisors last year. This month saw Commonwealth Financial Network opening up the RSS feeds and everything else to its advisors.

There’s different media for different folks: Facebook way be right for close followers and customers, while LinkedIn can be ideal for networking with centers of influence. Many advisors are finding that tweeting highlights from a conference event to their followers act as on-the-spot reports to followers who couldn’t make the conference themselves.

One of the reasons for celebration has been FINRA, which has been as supportive of social media as it has been clear in its directives. Advisolocity’s Zach Hedges said recently, “FINRA likes the idea that asset managers are providing more information to investors. Having a written social media policy helps, too.”

His statement was borne out following the triple whammy in Japan — earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Gaxiola Financial scored high marks from the press and public with their posted messages on Twitter and Facebook that investor exposure to Japan in client portfolios was minimal.

Social media is a two-way street, too. Investors can window shop and look around for the best advisor for their particular situation.

John Drachman can be reached at john@advisolocity.com

By John Drachman

“I don’t understand  about contact capture — I just need client acquisition.” (Overheard from a discussion between two financial advisors.)

An important part of any growth strategy is having the capability to reach out and attract new interest.

To promote products and services through traditional marketing venues, marketers face a task that can be time-consuming, expensive and perhaps annoying for recipients of a message. Think of paper-based direct mail.

Client acquisition's new best friend: Social media

On the other hand, social networking, participation in blogs and discussions groups are easy for prospects to engage in without having to make a commitment — until they are ready. Meanwhile, the link between a prospect and a product has a chance to strengthen over time. The decision to receive a message is elective; the prospect has a choice to engage in the communications — or opt out.

Simply put, low cost social media efforts act like a 24/7 business development machine for financial advisors and money managers on a budget.

If you are thinking about setting the stage for undertaking your own social media initiative, Advisolocity’s latest webinar, “Where Social Media Meets Client Acquisition,” can help. It aims to answer questions like these:

• What’s the minimum effort required to undertake a social media effort?
• What is the single best social media thing  you can do to improve client acquisition?
• What are the steps that lead from capturing contacts to actually acquiring clients?

To see  how easy-to-use, low-cost social media programs are helping asset managers and advisors stand out in a crowded market, view “Where Social Media Meets Client Acquisition.”

There is a new research forum in town that is dedicated to investigating a method for predicting mutual fund performance.

According to Neil Anderson, of MutualFundWire.com, “Fundsters may repeat the required-by-law ‘past performance does not guarantee future results’ mantra, but a pair of Fidelity alumni are taking a stab at anticipating outperformance.”

Quadrant power: Can FundReveal make performance predictable?

The two ‘fundsters’ are Ani Chitaley and Anthony DuBon, co-developers of Fund Reveal, a  fund performance system.

The purpose of their blog, Mutual Fund Performance Forum, according to Mr. Chitaley, is to engage advisors and investors in a conversation about  mutual fund measurement best practices.

The Power of the Quadrant

At the heart of the duo’s research efforts is a quadrant analysis that employs risk, return and persistence measures to offer a predictive approach to mutual fund performance.

When investors enter fund names or symbols, FundReveal charts each fund in comparison with the S&P 500.

“We aren’t looking for the funds that hit home runs last quarter or last year.  We’re looking for those that provide solid best quadrant performance quarter after quarter and year after year.”  Mr. DuBon concluded.

To develop their new blog and integrate it with their web site, Mr. Chitaley and Mr. Dubon turned to Advisolocity’s John Drachman and Zach Hedges to implement their digital content strategy.

There is a new research forum in town that is dedicated to investigating a method for predicting mutual fund performance.

According to Neil Anderson, of MutualFundWire.com, “Fundsters may repeat the required-by-law ‘past performance does not guarantee future results’ mantra, but a pair of Fidelity alumni are taking a stab at anticipating outperformance.”

Quadrant power: Can FundReveal make performance predictable?

The two ‘fundsters’ are Ani Chitaley and Anthony DuBon, co-developers of Fund Reveal, a  fund performance system.

The purpose of their blog, Mutual Fund Performance Forum, according to Mr. Chitaley, is to engage advisors and investors in a conversation about  mutual fund measurement best practices.

The Power of the Quadrant

At the heart of the duo’s research efforts is a quadrant analysis that employs risk, return and persistence measures to offer a predictive approach to mutual fund performance.

When investors enter fund names or symbols, FundReveal charts each fund in comparison with the S&P 500.

“We aren’t looking for the funds that hit home runs last quarter or last year.  We’re looking for those that provide solid best quadrant performance quarter after quarter and year after year.”  Mr. DuBon concluded.

To develop their new blog and integrate it with their web site, Mr. Chitaley and Mr. Dubon turned to Advisolocity’s John Drachman and Zach Hedges to implement their digital content strategy.