Savvy Investor is a relatively new entrant into the content marketing arena, but has proved an instant hit with institutional investors worldwide, reaching critical mass in less than twelve months and gaining 200 new members every week. The site provides a platform for asset managers and other providers to showcase their thought leadership credentials.
The core team is based in the UK, and I caught up with CEO Andrew Perrins to learn more:
What is Savvy Investor? What are the benefits of joining?
Savvy Investor is a “knowledge network” for institutional investors. Our research team curates the best pensions and investment white papers from around the world; tagging, categorising and rating every document so that an investor can instantly find the best research on any given investment topic. Our research library gives members free access to over 12,000 white papers.
Why did you create Savvy Investor?
Prior to founding Savvy Investor, I ran a successful conference business. So my initial inspiration for Savvy Investor actually came from thinking about the future of the conference industry in a digital age. Essentially, conferences seek to provide delegates with knowledge and networking, so the digital equivalent of a conference is not a webinar but a “knowledge network”.
What makes Savvy Investor the ideal online community for investment professionals?
The site is personalised to the requirements of the individual user. During registration, members indicate their professional interests by selecting from a list of 50 topics. These “followed” topics can be amended at any time, and are used to populate content for the user’s home page and weekly newsletter. We launched last March, we have 8500 members, and we’re gaining around 200 new members every week.
What advantages does Savvy Investor have over other professional social media channels and communities like LinkedIn?
We have the networking functionality of LinkedIn, but our content is much more focused. The content you’ll see on LinkedIn tends to lack substance and professionalism, and even if good content is posted, it’s difficult to find. I worked for five years as an actuary and twelve years as an asset manager, so I know the type of content that is useful to asset managers and institutional investors. Our content is curated, categorized and tagged in a way that makes sense to pensions and investment professionals. The site has been called “LinkedIn for Investors” but my favorite was a quote recently from a new member who explained Savvy Investor to a friend by saying “It’s like LinkedIn, only useful!”
How important is it today for investment professionals to engage online with digital communication platforms and social media networks?
Every investment marketing organisation needs to work out the digital solutions that will most fruitfully connect the firm to its target audience. The optimal solutions will change over time as the environment evolves, tastes change, and new platforms arise.
What features or areas of the Savvy Investor site should those in Fund Marketing check out?
Savvy Investor is a great platform for firms to demonstrate their thought leadership credentials. In 2016 we plan to enter into “Partnerships” with maybe 15-20 Asset Managers and Investment Consultants, enabling them to optimise the site’s potential for content marketing and lead generation. As we speak we’re still putting the finishing touches to our 2016 Media Pack, but already we have strong interest from a number of blue chip firms. Effectively, our partners will be funding the site, so we’ll be doing our utmost to ensure they receive a high ROI.
Learn more about who Savvy Investor is for. Registration is free.
