Over the past year it has become increasingly more important for financial professionals to communicate with their clients in a variety of ways.  One such way is through newsletters.  Financial firms can provide electronic newsletters, hard-copy newsletters, or both.  Too often firms distribute these forms of communication without much feedback in terms of how clients perceive this service.

Electronic newsletters are read far more than hard-copy newsletters, according to recent research from Spectrem Group.  Eighty-two percent of wealthy investors at least sometimes read electronic newsletters from their financial advisor, while only 66 percent at least sometimes read hard copy newsletters.  Ninety-five percent of investors that are very knowledgeable are reading electronic newsletters from their financial advisor at least sometimes.  This is in stark contrast to investors who do not feel they are knowledgeable, with less than two-thirds who are reading electronic newsletters.  Perhaps the investors who are less knowledgeable are less likely to be aware of their financial professional offering this or they simply choose to not read it since they are not knowledgeable.

Knowing that the majority of wealthy investors are reading newsletters is very encouraging, however it is critical to know how these investors feel about the quality of the newsletter.  Just under a third of investors feel that electronic newsletters from their financial advisor are excellent.  Nearly two-thirds feel the electronic newsletters they receive are simply satisfactory.  Investors with over $10 million in net worth, not including their residence, may be receiving a different type of newsletter, because nearly half of those investors feel the electronic newsletters they receive are excellent.

Hard copy newsletters are viewed very similarly, with 11 percent of wealthy investors feel the hard copy newsletters are poor, 59 percent feel they are satisfactory and only 31 percent feel they are excellent.  A quarter of those investors with a net worth below $500,000 feel that hard copy newsletters from their financial professional is poor.

Given that the readership of newsletters is so high, it is critical for financial firms to improve the quality of their newsletters, regardless of the method of delivery, hard copy or electronic.  Financial firms can develop higher levels of client retention while providing a valuable piece of communications that can be shared with a friend or a family member with a referral, simply by providing excellent content within their newsletters.