CACEIS and PwC Luxembourg jointly released their second report of the series #SocialMediaStudies titled “Asset Management in the social era” during the Fund Forum International in Berlin today. This thought leadership piece provides an update on the state of asset management’s use of social media and the leading players in this arena.

Since the previous study in 2013[1], asset managers have increased their presence on social networks, which has led to an uptick in interactions they have with their clients and followers.

Commenting on the report, Joe Saliba, CACEIS Deputy Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Three years on, social media usage in our industry has evolved rapidly, and the factors driving that change have also intensified. As the pace of change in the social media environment is brisk, we have elected to republish our study, to include updated information on all aspects of the intersection between social media and asset management.”

According to this study, social media networks have become an integral part of asset managers’ marketing mix. Case in point: the share of asset managers active[2] on social media today stands at 89% (73% excluding LinkedIn), up from 60% in 2013.

Since the previous edition, asset management firms in Europe have caught up with 3 firms in the top ten users of social media, from 1 in 2013. In addition, 10 European players are now in the top 25, from 7 three years ago.

While banks are starting to provide account management and payments via social media, asset managers have not tapped into these platforms to distribute funds yet.

“Something clear emerged from our analysis: the asset management community is increasingly betting on social media, and asset managers with no clear strategy on how to take advantage of social media as communications and sales channels will be left behind. Social channels could unlock new opportunities for investment firms,” said Dariush Yazdani, partner and Market Research Centre Leader at PwC Luxembourg.

The full report can be downloaded at www.caceis.com or www.pwc.lu.

[1] “Social Media Studies - Asset Management in the Social Era” published by Caceis and PwC Luxembourg in 2013

[2] Asset managers “active on social media” are those with at least one account dedicated to asset management on Facebook, LinkedIn,Twitter or YouTube