Advisers Favor Fast, Expert-Driven Content Over Long Reads, per Fuse

Financial marketing tactics have come to be defined by accessibility and digital dialogue, according to Fuse Research Network’s recent “Advisor Trend Monitor” report. Nearly half of surveyed advisers (47%) said expert opinions, such as financial media commentary or appearances on news programs, are “effective” or “highly effective” in shaping their views.

Bylined articles were the second-most-cited media format that shapes advisers’ opinions,  cited by 22% of surveyed advisers, while 17% said press placements—featuring in media coverage—were effective for shaping opinions.

Report findings suggested that asset managers may benefit from prioritizing real-time, expert-led content, rather than traditional, long-form written materials.

“An expert opinion you watch on [programs like CNBC’s] ‘Squawk Box’ … is a much more convenient, quick way for advisers to receive the sort of credibility that they’re looking for from someone, versus the time that it might take [to read] a bylined article, sadly,” says Lisa Travaglini, Fuse’s editorial director.

While Fuse’s survey did not evaluate specific messaging for adviser audiences, it analyzed engagement with other forms of written marketing content, such as market outlooks, white papers and portfolio manager commentary.

Concise written materials remained the most important format, though advisers were willing to spend more time on content that delivered deeper, more specialized value.

Respondents said market outlooks were best consumed in a concise, mid-length format, with the most-preferred reading length being two to four minutes (cited by 41%, reinforcing the need for efficient, high-level macro insights that can be quickly translated into client conversations.

With portfolio manager commentary, advisers were willing to engage with longer formats, with the most common preferred reading length being  five to nine minutes (30%). According to the report, advisers appeared to value added depth and perspective when it came directly from portfolio managers.

White papers were also a format that drew longer engagement from advisers, with a most common preferred reading length of five to nine minutes (31%).

“I think the biggest takeaway for me is advisers [are] looking for that authoritative voice—whether it’s a portfolio manager or the CEO or whomever—giving introspection on the company,” Travaglini says.

Fuse surveyed 552 financial advisers in late March.