Gen Y looks to Twitter, not advisers, for financial info

Financial advisers looking to attract younger clients had better sharpen up their tweeting skills. A new survey of adults 22 to 34 shows that only 10% of this so-called Generation Y considers professional investment advisers as the most valuable source of financial news and information. Of this same group, about 21% most trust their friends, colleagues and relatives for financial news. The same percentage rely most on TV and radio talk shows, while 20% depend most on news-related websites. Only 11% rely most on newspapers, according to the survey, in which Maritz Inc. screened 963 adults for TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. The survey also found that a third of Generation Yers consider social media a valuable source of information about the financial markets and the economy, compared with 27% for Generation X, 21% for baby boomers and 14% of people born in or before 1930. “Advisers haven’t built much of a relationship yet with Gen Yers or Gen Xers,” said Stuart Rubinstein, manager director of client engagement at TD Ameritrade, the online brokerage. “As they start to reach out to that audience, advisers will have to think about how this group communicates.” He recommends making “friends” with clients’ children on Facebook to keep the adviser's name in front of them. When the time comes that they need financial advice, the adviser will be an obvious avenue, he said. Also, the younger generations learn about money management in school so advisers should look for ways of participating in classroons, Mr. Rubinstein said. TD Ameritrade's Annual Investor Index survey also found that Generation Y is becoming responsible for its finances at an earlier age. According to the survey, nearly half of adults falling into the Gen Y category learned about money and personal finance at 12 or younger. That figure fell to 35% for baby boomers and 32% for people who are 80 or older.