The remote chatting now going on between clients and advisors could become the new normal. That’s what investors said in a recent survey from Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. But not everybody likes talking through Zoom, and the preference for new communication methods changes along generational lines.
More than half (57%) of investors in the Broadridge survey said interactions with their advisors have changed in some way amid the stay-at-home mandates. And nearly two-thirds (62%) of those who reported changes said they would continue to use these new communication channels either entirely or partially after the pandemic ends.
The survey, which included 1,000 individuals who currently use a financial advisor in the U.S. and Canada, found that most respondents (58%) communicated with advisors through phone calls, while 46% said e-mails were the new way they interacted with their advisor during the pandemic.
The survey found that Zoom meetings were the least favored by respondents. Although more than a third (36%) used video chat, only 9% preferred that method above all others, the survey said. Millennial investors were the most likely to use video chat with their advisors (59%).
“We are seeing an accelerated adoption of digitalization and personalization from investors, financial advisors and wealth firms as a result of the pandemic,” said Michael Alexander, president of wealth management at Broadridge, in a statement. “These behaviors are broadening, deepening and changing the client-advisor relationship. As a result, investors don’t want a return to the past. They largely prefer this new normal.”
When connecting with their advisors, respondents said they preferred individualized information. Forty-four percent said they were interested in a comprehensive view of their accounts; 32% said they wanted money-saving tips tailored to them; 32% said they wanted ideas for new investment vehicles that could work for them; and 9% said they wanted personalized analysis of their investing habits.
The survey found that younger investors strongly wish to connect with their advisors through social media. Eighty-six percent of Gen Zers and 87% of millennials said they were comfortable having an advisor follow them on social media to offer a more customized experience. Meanwhile, 60% of Gen Xers were comfortable with that approach. Only 20% of baby boomers were.
Millennials chose Facebook (66%) as the top social media platform where they would feel comfortable with their advisors following them, followed by Gen Xers (46%) and boomers (15%). Gen Z, on the other hand, is most comfortable with advisors following them on Instagram (53%). Fifty percent of millennials are comfortable with advisors following them on Instagram.
Furthermore, 87% of millennials and 86% of Gen Z are most likely to be receptive to reading advisor communications on social media as opposed to 59% of Gen Xers and 18% of boomers.