Seventy-seven percent of investors said they have investigated an issue based on information gleamed from social media sources like StockTwits or LinkedIn, according to Brunswick's Global Investor Survey, although information obtained directly from companies remains king.

Blogs, particularly in North America, are the preferred choice of digital or social media for investment research, followed by online sharing of investor presentations, microblogs (Twitter, StockTwits) and social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Forty-one percent reported that they "launched the construction" of an investment decision based on information originally seen on social or digital media, with 29% reporting the information came from blogs, up two percent over 2014. Regionally, Asian investors appear much more willing to pursue social leads as 58% constructed an investment move from info gathered from a social/digital source. In Europe that rate was only 38%, while Americans were even more hesitant at 36%.


Brunswick Insight queried 622 buy-side investors and sell-side analysts in March and April for the report (PDF), which found that 64% believe digital media's role will likely increase further in their investment decisions.

Corporate Sources Still Reign

While most sources like blogs and social networks have risen in importance over the past six years of Brunswick surveys, the importance of message boards has declined from 39% in 2009 to only 23% who said the media had prompted them to look further at an issue. During the same time period, those citing blogs as sources rose from 47% to 59% and social networks jumped from 11% to 26%.

Despite the rise of investment information sourced from digital, investors overwhelmingly still rely on information direct from companies as their "most influential" source. That is followed by real-time subscription services, analyst research and primary market research, and traditional media (in print and online form).

Among direct corporate sources, direct interaction with management tops the list and has remained steady over the past five years, while investors have increasingly relied on regulatory filings and investor/corporate presentations, amid a decline in conference calls/webcasts and company news releases over the past year.