• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, May 14, 2013

Younger investment professionals are more likely to use social media as a source of information for investment decisions, according to a survey of 120 stockbrokers, financial and market analysts, financial advisors, individual traders and fund managers conducted by Marketwired.

Overall 40% of the financial professionals surveyed by Marketwired said they are using social media as a source of information, but that number increases to 60% among financial pros under the age of 40. The younger financial pros are also three times as likely as the older cohorts to say that the information they get from social media is generally credible.

This generational shift may force firms to change their policies about social media, as 49% of respondents say their companies currently block access to social media sites (forcing 39% to consult them on personal electronic devices during the workday).

The figures from the Marketwired survey would seem to correspond pretty well with data from previous studies of social media use by financial professionals. In March I wrote about an Accenture survey of 400 financial advisors which found that roughly 50% are using social media to communicate with clients on a daily basis. The same proportion say they have used social media to get new clients.

On the client side, a study from Cogent Research found that 34% of affluent investors use social media -- including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and blogs -- as a source of information for personal finance and investment decisions. Within this group, 70% -- or 24% of the total -- said they have shifted investments or begun (or changed) their relationships with investment providers due to information derived from social media.