Greenwich Associates, provider of market data on the financial services sector, also said social media could influence the decisions of investors and fund managers, and help deliver a better return than a full-page advert in the financial press.
The study, involving 256 institutional investors with assets under management ranging from $250m to $10bn, said Asian fund managers were driven towards social media because of a lack of professional data across parts of the Asian continent, meaning more investors turned to public sources instead.
The research highlighted that the educated population in Asia was better connected than investors in the US and Europe.
It also found that those who conveyed company messages and ideas through online networking platforms helped their business grow far more than a ‘faceless’ company page.
“That said, even the most social media savvy asset manager will see little success if the content they distribute – and ultimately their fund returns – is sub-par,” Greenwich added.
“While the importance of fund returns is paramount, the impact of content that is unique and insightful can be significant.”
A third of fund managers said they were influenced in their investment decision process through social media and, according to Greenwich, information often sparked further conversations with senior management and investment consultants.
The study also stipulated that nearly half of the fund managers using social media had been provoked to take action after seeing information on networking sites, with outlets such as LinkedIn frequently prompting them to do more research.
