Guide
Financial advisor video marketing statistics: sourced, dated and checked
Updated
The advisor marketing numbers worth repeating, each with its study and year, so you can check a figure before it goes in a deck. Last checked August 2026.
In short
- Financial firms grew their video posts 287% in four years (Hearsay Systems, 2024).
- The average advisor spends 2.1 hours a week on marketing (Broadridge, 2024).
- 67% of new RIA clients and assets came from referrals (Charles Schwab, 2024).
- 89% of clients say they would refer more if their advisor got in touch more often (YCharts, 2024).
- YouTube is the top single resource for Gen Z investors, at 60% (FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023).
- Of US advisory assets sit with advisors planning to retire within ten years (Cerulli, 2024)
- 41%
- Growth in video posts by financial firms over four years (Hearsay Systems, 2024)
- 287%
- Average time for a referral to become a client, against 3.6 months for other leads (Broadridge, 2024)
- 1.7 mo
- Credits for one finished 30-second video on Cutroom
- 110
How advisors market, in numbers
Broadridge's 2024 survey covered 403 US advisors managing $100 million or more, asked in late 2023.
- 80% of advisors do their own marketing, with no agency and no in-house marketer (Broadridge, 2024).
- 3 in 10 spend under an hour a week on it, and 85% say finding the time is hard (Broadridge, 2024).
Advisor marketing: money and time
| Finding | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average yearly marketing spend | $15,908 | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Median yearly marketing spend | $6,250, unchanged in four years | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Hours a week on marketing | 2.1 on average. 3 in 10 spend under 1 | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Say finding time for marketing is hard | 85% | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Do their own marketing, no agency or marketer | 80% | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Have a defined marketing strategy | 23% | Broadridge, 2020 |
| New clients a year, with a strategy vs without | 21 vs 14 | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Marketing cost per new client | $609 on average (15 new clients a year). $997 for growth-focused advisors | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Cost to acquire a client, earlier survey of 400+ advisors | $929 | Broadridge, 2019 |
| Call their own website ineffective for leads | 62%. About 2.5 leads a month per site | Broadridge, 2024 |
Finding: Average yearly marketing spend
- Number
- $15,908
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Median yearly marketing spend
- Number
- $6,250, unchanged in four years
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Hours a week on marketing
- Number
- 2.1 on average. 3 in 10 spend under 1
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Say finding time for marketing is hard
- Number
- 85%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Do their own marketing, no agency or marketer
- Number
- 80%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Have a defined marketing strategy
- Number
- 23%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2020
Finding: New clients a year, with a strategy vs without
- Number
- 21 vs 14
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Marketing cost per new client
- Number
- $609 on average (15 new clients a year). $997 for growth-focused advisors
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Cost to acquire a client, earlier survey of 400+ advisors
- Number
- $929
- Source
- Broadridge, 2019
Finding: Call their own website ineffective for leads
- Number
- 62%. About 2.5 leads a month per site
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Referrals and client contact
Advisory runs on referrals, and the same studies show how fragile the relationship behind them is.
- Referrals brought in 67% of new RIA clients and assets in 2023 (Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study, 2024).
- Referred prospects become clients in 1.7 months, against 3.6 months for other leads (Broadridge, 2024).
- 75% of advised investors switched advisor or thought about it in 2023 (YCharts, 2024).
- Nearly 80% want to hear from their advisor at least once every three months (YCharts, 2024).
- With more personal contact, 89% would refer more and 88% would be likelier to stay (YCharts, 2024).
- Only 26% of advisors meet what clients expect for how often they hear from them (Broadridge, 2024).
- Communication quality is the stated reason in only 9% of firings. The two bigger reasons, advice quality and the relationship itself, are both built by staying in touch (Morningstar, 2023).
Why investors fire their advisor
Share of stated reasons for ending an advisor relationship (Morningstar, 2023).
- Quality of advice and services32%
- Quality of the relationship21%
- Cost of services17%
- Investment returns11%
- Communication quality9%
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Advisor social media: ten years of data
Putnam surveyed advisors almost every year from 2013. Results grew fast, peaked during the pandemic, and have fallen back since.
- Putnam puts the drop down to fallout from the SEC marketing rule, in force for advisers since November 2022.
- That rule allows client testimonials, as long as the advertisement itself says whether the speaker is a client and whether they were paid.
- The terms of any payment, and any material conflict of interest, have to be disclosed somewhere the reader can easily reach.
- Advisors name LinkedIn and Facebook as the two channels that bring them the most business (Broadridge, 2024).
Advisors and social media
| Finding | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Advisors on social media who gained new clients from it | 49% in 2013, 80% in 2016 | Putnam Social Advisor Survey, 2013 and 2016 |
| Said social media brought in new business | 89% in 2020, 51% in 2023 | Putnam Social Advisor Survey, 2023 |
| Started relationships or onboarded clients in the pandemic year | 74% | Putnam, 2020 |
| Have won a client through social media | 4 in 10 | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Put marketing effort into LinkedIn | 68% | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Put marketing effort into Facebook | 50% | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Use AI in their marketing | 8% | Broadridge, 2024 |
| Plan to use AI in their marketing | 35% | Broadridge, 2024 |
| LinkedIn video watch time growth | +36% a year | LinkedIn, 2025 |
Finding: Advisors on social media who gained new clients from it
- Number
- 49% in 2013, 80% in 2016
- Source
- Putnam Social Advisor Survey, 2013 and 2016
Finding: Said social media brought in new business
- Number
- 89% in 2020, 51% in 2023
- Source
- Putnam Social Advisor Survey, 2023
Finding: Started relationships or onboarded clients in the pandemic year
- Number
- 74%
- Source
- Putnam, 2020
Finding: Have won a client through social media
- Number
- 4 in 10
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Put marketing effort into LinkedIn
- Number
- 68%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Put marketing effort into Facebook
- Number
- 50%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Use AI in their marketing
- Number
- 8%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: Plan to use AI in their marketing
- Number
- 35%
- Source
- Broadridge, 2024
Finding: LinkedIn video watch time growth
- Number
- +36% a year
- Source
- LinkedIn, 2025
Video in financial services
Financial firms grew video posts 287% in four years, and Gen Z investors learn on video. The honest caution from the same study: text-only posts still got the most engagement per post (Hearsay Systems, 2024).
- 105,887 advisors, 37% of the US total, plan to retire within ten years, and they manage 41% of the assets (Cerulli, 2024).
- The number of advisors grew only 0.2% in a decade, to 283,137 (Cerulli, 2024).
- The clients who replace a retiring advisor's book are younger: 60% of US Gen Z investors name YouTube as their top single resource (FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023).
Video and the next generation of clients
| Finding | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Growth in video posts by financial firms over four years | +287% | Hearsay Systems, 13M posts, 260,000 advisors and agents, 2024 |
| Format with the most engagement per post in that study | Text-only posts | Hearsay Systems, 2024 |
| Wealth professionals who call video effective | 93% | Socialive, a video vendor, 600+ professionals, 2022 |
| Saw more client demand to talk by video | 83% | Socialive, 2022 |
| Struggle to record, edit and publish video | 59% | Socialive, 2022 |
| US Gen Z investors who learn mainly through social media | 48% | FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023 |
| Gen Z investors' top single resource: YouTube | 60% | FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023 |
| Gen Z investors who cite influencers as a major reason to start | 37% | FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023 |
| B2B buyers who trust thought leadership over marketing materials | 73% | Edelman-LinkedIn, 2024 |
Finding: Growth in video posts by financial firms over four years
- Number
- +287%
- Source
- Hearsay Systems, 13M posts, 260,000 advisors and agents, 2024
Finding: Format with the most engagement per post in that study
- Number
- Text-only posts
- Source
- Hearsay Systems, 2024
Finding: Wealth professionals who call video effective
- Number
- 93%
- Source
- Socialive, a video vendor, 600+ professionals, 2022
Finding: Saw more client demand to talk by video
- Number
- 83%
- Source
- Socialive, 2022
Finding: Struggle to record, edit and publish video
- Number
- 59%
- Source
- Socialive, 2022
Finding: US Gen Z investors who learn mainly through social media
- Number
- 48%
- Source
- FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023
Finding: Gen Z investors' top single resource: YouTube
- Number
- 60%
- Source
- FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023
Finding: Gen Z investors who cite influencers as a major reason to start
- Number
- 37%
- Source
- FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute, 2023
Finding: B2B buyers who trust thought leadership over marketing materials
- Number
- 73%
- Source
- Edelman-LinkedIn, 2024
3 famous statistics, checked
These three show up in most advisor video articles. None of them survives a trip to its source unchanged.
- Putnam's survey pages now redirect to Franklin Templeton after the acquisition.
- Putnam's 92% figure was true in 2019. The 2023 edition of the same survey put advisors gaining business at 51%, so the old number is only honest with its year attached.
Where the famous numbers really come from
| Claim | Real origin | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Viewers retain 95% of a video message, 10% of text | Insivia's small survey of about 200 B2B buyers, late 2000s. Echoes a faked version of Edgar Dale's 1940s diagram, which had no percentages | No study behind it |
| Pages with video are 53x more likely to rank on Google's first page | Forrester's Nate Elliott, January 2009. In 2012 he warned it was almost certainly no longer accurate | Real, but outdated |
| 92% of advisors on social media gained assets from it | Putnam Social Advisor Survey, 2019. The 2023 edition put advisors gaining business at 51% | True in 2019, quoted without its year |
Claim: Viewers retain 95% of a video message, 10% of text
- Real origin
- Insivia's small survey of about 200 B2B buyers, late 2000s. Echoes a faked version of Edgar Dale's 1940s diagram, which had no percentages
- Verdict
- No study behind it
Claim: Pages with video are 53x more likely to rank on Google's first page
- Real origin
- Forrester's Nate Elliott, January 2009. In 2012 he warned it was almost certainly no longer accurate
- Verdict
- Real, but outdated
Claim: 92% of advisors on social media gained assets from it
- Real origin
- Putnam Social Advisor Survey, 2019. The 2023 edition put advisors gaining business at 51%
- Verdict
- True in 2019, quoted without its year
Sources
Primary sources for this page. Vendor surveys and platform data are labelled as such.
Sources used on this page
| Source | Year | Sample or note |
|---|---|---|
| Broadridge Financial Advisor Marketing Trends Report | 2024, also 2019 and 2020 | 403 US advisors, $100M+ AUM, asked October to November 2023 |
| Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study | 2024 | RIA firms |
| YCharts Advisor-Client Communication Survey | 2024 | About 800 advised investors |
| Morningstar, Why Do Investors Fire Their Financial Advisor? | 2023 | Behavioral research |
| Putnam Investments Social Advisor Survey | 2013 to 2023 | Advisor survey, most years |
| Hearsay Systems Financial Services Social Selling Content Study | 2024 | 13 million posts across 100+ firms |
| Socialive financial services video report | 2022 | A video vendor's survey of 600+ professionals |
| FINRA Investor Education Foundation and CFA Institute, Gen Z and Investing | 2023 | US Gen Z investors |
| Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report | 2024 | About 3,500 managers in seven countries |
| Cerulli Associates, US advisor metrics | 2024 | Advisor headcount and assets |
| LinkedIn platform data | 2025 | Platform data |
Source: Broadridge Financial Advisor Marketing Trends Report
- Year
- 2024, also 2019 and 2020
- Sample or note
- 403 US advisors, $100M+ AUM, asked October to November 2023
Source: Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study
- Year
- 2024
- Sample or note
- RIA firms
Source: YCharts Advisor-Client Communication Survey
- Year
- 2024
- Sample or note
- About 800 advised investors
Source: Morningstar, Why Do Investors Fire Their Financial Advisor?
- Year
- 2023
- Sample or note
- Behavioral research
Source: Putnam Investments Social Advisor Survey
- Year
- 2013 to 2023
- Sample or note
- Advisor survey, most years
Source: Hearsay Systems Financial Services Social Selling Content Study
- Year
- 2024
- Sample or note
- 13 million posts across 100+ firms
Source: Socialive financial services video report
- Year
- 2022
- Sample or note
- A video vendor's survey of 600+ professionals
Source: FINRA Investor Education Foundation and CFA Institute, Gen Z and Investing
- Year
- 2023
- Sample or note
- US Gen Z investors
Source: Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report
- Year
- 2024
- Sample or note
- About 3,500 managers in seven countries
Source: Cerulli Associates, US advisor metrics
- Year
- 2024
- Sample or note
- Advisor headcount and assets
Source: LinkedIn platform data
- Year
- 2025
- Sample or note
- Platform data
Where Cutroom fits
The numbers point to one habit: stay in touch often, show your face, and fit it into 2.1 hours a week.
- One short video of yourself talking, once a week, fits inside those 2.1 hours.
- It also keeps you visible to the person a client just referred, because a referred prospect looks you up before the first call.
- With Cutroom, one clip of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes, comes back as a captioned 9:16 MP4 with b-roll.
- You edit the words, and those same words are the script your compliance desk reviews.
- It only takes clips up to 3 minutes, only exports a 9:16 MP4, and promises no results.
Cutroom prices
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Your first video | Free. 600 credits, no card, 7 days, with a Cutroom mark |
| Editing one clip | 100 credits |
| Export | 20 credits per finished minute |
| One 30-second video | About 110 credits |
| Lite plan | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 videos, no mark |
What: Your first video
- Cost
- Free. 600 credits, no card, 7 days, with a Cutroom mark
What: Editing one clip
- Cost
- 100 credits
What: Export
- Cost
- 20 credits per finished minute
What: One 30-second video
- Cost
- About 110 credits
What: Lite plan
- Cost
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 videos, no mark
Questions people ask
- What percentage of financial advisors use video marketing?
- No clean adoption rate exists, so we do not invent one. The closest figures: financial firms grew video posts 287% in four years (Hearsay Systems, 2024), and 93% of wealth professionals called video effective in a 600-person vendor survey (Socialive, 2022). Neither is an adoption rate.
- Do financial advisors actually get clients from social media?
- Yes. Four in ten advisors have won a client through social media (Broadridge, 2024). 51% said social brought in new business in 2023, down from 89% in 2020 after the SEC marketing rule (Putnam, 2023). LinkedIn and Facebook convert best (Broadridge, 2024).
- How much do financial advisors spend on marketing?
- $15,908 a year on average, with a median of $6,250 that has not moved in four years (Broadridge, 2024). The average advisor spends 2.1 hours a week on marketing, and 85% say finding the time is hard.
- Are these statistics current?
- Each figure carries its source and year, and the page was last checked in August 2026. Where a number is old, the year says so. Famous numbers that failed the check are in their own section, not in the lists.
- Why is the 95% video retention statistic not on this page?
- It has no study behind it. The trail ends at a marketing agency's small late-2000s survey and a 1940s teaching diagram that never had percentages. Reprinting it would undo the point of a sourced page.
- What does a weekly advisor video cost with Cutroom?
- About 110 credits per finished 30-second video: 100 to edit plus 20 per finished minute to export. Your first video is free: 600 credits, no card, 7 days. Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 videos, and you cancel in one click.
Every number here can be checked against its named source, the same test your own claims face. Your first video is free.