Financial intermediaries' media habits across five markets

Financial intermediaries prioritise industry news over self-promotion in their media habits, according to new research from Aureum Y, the research division of Fundamental Group. Aureum Y surveyed intermediaries across Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, and found that within this news-driven environment media habits still vary by geography and, in some cases, by professional role.

Social media is primarily a source of news

Across most markets, the leading reason financial intermediaries use social media is to follow industry news. In France, 83% of all respondents cited this as a purpose. Australia recorded 72%, Germany 73% and the UK 66%. Italy is the exception: there, 71% follow industry news, while reading or watching content and contacting clients rank slightly higher. Across all markets, discretionary portfolio managers are more likely than financial advisors to use social media to follow industry news.

Another consistent finding is the limited use of social media for business promotion. Across all markets, promoting one's own business ranks among the least common reasons for using social platforms. In Italy, 39% of respondents use social media for this purpose, falling to 25% in the UK. For asset managers, this provides further evidence that financial intermediaries tend to use social media more for accessing industry news and professional insights than for promoting their own services.

Newsletter engagement varies across markets

Newsletter use is highest in Italy and Germany. Reading newsletters at least once a day, which includes those reading a few times a day and once a day, reaches 62% of respondents in Italy and 58% in Germany. France follows at 52%, with Australia at 25% and the UK at just 17%. Across most markets, discretionary portfolio managers read newsletters more frequently than advisors. Australia is the exception, where the two groups are more balanced.

For asset managers using newsletters as part of their communications strategy, the findings show clear differences in reach across markets, with newsletters likely to have greater potential in Germany and Italy than in the UK.

Podcast habits follow a similar pattern

Podcasts are used less frequently than newsletters across all markets. Daily listening, which includes those listening a few times a day and once a day, is highest in Germany at 19%, followed by Australia and Italy at 18% each, with France and the UK lower at 9%. Weekly listening, measured as up to once a week, is strongest in Italy at 63% and Germany at 58%, followed by France at 54% and Australia at 44%, with the UK lowest at 33%.

Event format preferences reflect the online and offline divide

Germany is the only market where online events are the most common preference, cited by 39% of respondents. In France, the preference runs the other way, with 36% favouring physical events and 43% of French discretionary portfolio managers choosing offline formats. None of the French DPMs surveyed said they do not attend events at all.

Italy also leans towards in-person, with 38% preferring offline formats. Australia comes in at 33%. The UK is the most flexible market, with 39% of respondents expressing no preference between formats and a similar figure among DPMs.

Across all five markets, no single format commands a majority. That makes a hybrid model the broadest-reach option for firms running pan-European or multi-market event programmes.

What the data means for asset managers