RJ and Makay

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Of more than 5 million high-net-worth (HNW) individuals that currently use social media for a variety of financial planning and investment research activities, almost three-fourths of them prefer LinkedIn, according to a Cogent Research survey of American and Canadian investors with more than $100,000 in investable assets. The percentage of LinkedIn fans represents more than twice the number using Facebook, Google+ and Twitter combined.

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Though investment performance is important, a new study finds that it’s the soft traits that drive advisor loyalty to mutual fund providers.  Gogent Research surveyed 1643 advisors this past spring to measure their degree of loyalty to their current providers and the likelihood of making future investments with those providers.  Based on advisor responses, Cogent combined the two measures to develop a mutual fund provider commitment ranking.

When it comes to meeting their pension obligations, public employers and unions are way behind corporations, suggests a new study by Cogent Research.

In a representative sample of 590 institutions with at least $20 million in pension plan assets, Cogent found that only 20% of plans can meet their financial obligations to plan participants. The deficit is due mainly to union and public pension plans: Only 10% and 12%, respectively, reported a current funding status of 95% or greater. A majority (54%) of public pensions said their current funding status is below 80%, and 16% had a current funding status below 60%.