Financial advisers take to Twitter "Stocks surge Wednesday on potential euro stimulus elixir, but could be one-day wonder," George Noceti, a California-based financial adviser at retail brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, told his clients earlier this month. While the message's content was relatively unremarkable, as financial commentary goes, the medium was noteworthy. The comment from Mr Noceti was sent via Twitter, the microblogging platform, from a library of pre-written messages approved by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Citigroup known as MSSB. As such, the tweet is part of Wall Street's tentative foray into social media. Last week, Morgan Stanley's internal risk committee gave the green light for all of the more than 17,000 financial advisers in its MSSB business to use Twitter and LinkedIn, the professional networking site. The go-ahead follows a year-long trial which saw a group of 600 MSSB advisers send messages via Twitter and interact on LinkedIn. While the company had initially planned to allow all its financial advisers to use social media last year, it has taken much longer than expected for the bank to expand the capability. "They're all moving in this direction, it's just a question of how long it will take them," says Chad Bockius, chief executive of Socialware, which advises financial companies, including MSSB, on their social media use. Other companies are dipping their toes into social media waters. Raymond James, a brokerage, has allowed its 6,000 advisers on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn since November last year, while AllianceBernstein allows all its retail advisers to use LinkedIn and says it plans to get them on Twitter. Merrill Lynch, MSSB's biggest competitor in wealth management with 17,500 financial advisers, declined to comment on its social media policy but people close to the company say it is experimenting internally. Financial companies are concerned about the stringent rules which govern what advisers and bankers can say to their existing and prospective clients. While the wealth management business thrives on advisers building relationships with clients, those links are closely regulated. Many of the rules were conceived decades before social media sites existed. "All of the old rules apply to this new medium," says Mr Bockius. The regulation requires financial companies to archive messages and make them readily available to regulators - a task which requires robust data collection. The companies must also navigate rules governing advertising and self-promotion. While Morgan Stanley is among the first big financial companies to embrace social media, it is taking it slowly. When its financial advisers are allowed on social media from next month in a staggered rollout, they will only be able to tweet using a library of preapproved 140-character messages. The messages, which may relate to market movements or financial planning advice, are updated daily by a single MSSB employee. A smaller trial group of about 20 financial advisers are currently allowed to send their own messages, which still require the company's approval. This capability could eventually be expanded to more advisers, Lauren Boyman, director of digital strategy at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, has said. However, the current rigidity has generated criticism from some commentators. "When we took a look at the few Morgan Stanley employees allowed on Twitter a few months ago, the tweets either sounded robotic or had a lot of impenetrable jargon," Rebecca Greenfield, a writer for the Atlantic Wire, commented this week. We can't imagine 16,400 more people with access to the same library of acceptable Twitter phrases will provide any more excitement. Excitement is not necessarily the goal of using social media, say some. "Firms haven't really been using social media to sell products or recommend particular products," says Joe Price, a senior vice-president at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. They're using it to maintain relationships with clients. Mr Noceti, the tweeting MSSB adviser, agrees. He sends out tweets whenever there's a sharp move in the markets and says his clients appreciate it. He has also brought in new customers through LinkedIn. Mr Noceti says he now incorporates a module on social media at the classes he helps teach for would-be financial planners at the University of Berkeley. "There's a learning curve involved," says Mr Noceti. It's really just starting to gain momentum.