Investors age 50 and older actually have tech usage and social media habits that are keeping pace with younger generations, according to AARP’s new “2020 Tech and the 50+ Survey,” released today.
The news for advisors is tech ownership among older adults is growing, with no signs of slowing down. And, for many devices, adoption among adults ages 50 and older is comparable to younger generations, the AARP found.
Some advisors are discovering this firsthand, as lingering Covid concerns make virtual marketing and communication a necessity and a growing client preference. “We haven’t met one of our new clients face to face this year,” David B. Armstrong, president and co-founder of Monument Wealth Management in Alexandria, VA, told Financial Advisor magazine.
Armstrong said he expects his $325 million AUM firm to grow 12% in 2020 because of its online presence. “Clients found us by coming across our social media posts, blogs and videos, especially those talking about the March market crash. Almost 100% of our client growth came in during that seven- to eight-week period of turbulence during the second quarter,” added Armstrong, who said almost all of his new clients are over age 50.
Like Armstrong, the AARP found that engaging in social media is one of the most common uses of a tech device—whether a computer, tablet or smartphone—by Americans age 50 and older.
Meanwhile, 74% of U.S. advisors who used social media for business initiated new relationships or on-boarded new clients, according to a new study by Putnam Investments.
The investment management firm’s 2020 “Social Advisor Study” found that 55% of advisors who initiated new client relationships increased their use of social media during the pandemic.
Most advisors in the survey (74%) relied on direct messaging through key social network platforms to communicate with clients and prospects, and 94% of those advisors reported gaining new assets. Some 50% of advisors engaged in direct messaging on LinkedIn, with 92% of those gaining assets; 38% used Facebook, with 98% of those gaining assets; 33% used Twitter, with 98% gaining assets; and 26% used direct messaging on Instagram, with 98% gaining assets, Putnam found.
“Adults ages 50 and older are adopting smartphones, wearables, home assistants, smart speakers and smart home technology at nearly the same rate as adults ages 18–49,” the AARP reported.
Smartphones are the most-purchased device of the past year, with some 23% of adults age 50 and older buying a new device. Smartphone usage by this demographic has skyrocketed since 2014, with some 86% of consumers 50 or over using a smartphone, up from 48% just six years ago. Some 81% of consumers 60 and older and 62% of those 70 and older use their smartphones daily.