By a wide margin investors trust financial pros more than online forums
Despite online financial investment tools, most people in the U.S. still use and prefer traditional financial professionals when seeking money management guidance, a poll of 420 Americans reports. On June 23 and June 24, respondents were polled over the telephone by the Capstrat Study.
Just 4 percent of respondents considered online forums as their “most influential” source of financial advice while 40 percent looked to financial advisors and banks. 15 percent of respondents seek advice from CPAs.
Here are some key findings from the survey:
- Certified Public Accounts were considered the most reliable to 62 percent of respondents
- Bank representatives were considered the most reliable to 52 percent of respondents
- Financial advisors were considered the most reliable to 51 percent of respondents
- Financial advisors were considered to be the “most influential” source of advice to 28 percent of men, compared to only 19 percent of women
- Women (22 percent) considered banks to be the most influential source of advice, compared to 12 percent of men
- One-third ranked financial news media as “not at all” or “somewhat unreliable”
There is a place for online financial investment tools, too. However, only 4 percent of all respondents said online forums were their “most influential” source of financial advice. Capstrat reported that 48 percent of all respondents who use online tools were between the ages of 18 and 19 years old. This group considers Google searches to be their most influential financial advisor and 43 percent say they use online forums. At the same time, 50 percent of the group gave financial advisors the highest scores for reliability. Capstrat did not poll the respondents about other Internet resources like blogs, webinars or research tools on company specific sites. Ken Eudy, CEO of Capstrat said this was because the company focused on tools that consumers would most likely use.
Mark Mats, founder and CEO of Matson Money said, of the results, “this shows that financial advisors have been making some headway with consumers.” He also added, “Other research shows that entrepreneurs are among the most trusted people in the economy, and independent advisors are entrepreneurs.”
Capstrat Survey: Investors Trust Financial Pros More Than Online Options (by Michael S. Fischer, Investment Advisor)
Post Meltdown, Most Americans Still Heed Traditional Financial Pros (by Donna Mitchell, financial-planning.com)
Capstrat, Public Policy Polling: Americans Have Little Faith in Government, Big Business (Triangle Business Journal)