RBC Direct Investing - the online trading arm of Royal Bank of Canada - is tapping social media with the introduction of a "community" that will provide investors with access to blogs and discussion forums that are relevant to their trading strategies.
The new feature uses technology developed by media tracking company Collective Intellect to filter and rank bloggers and posts so clients only see the most credible sources of information and only when it's relevant to their trading strategies.
"The explosive growth of social networking means online investors now have a wealth of information and immediate news available which is often overlooked by conventional media," says Doug Coulter, president and CEO, RBC Direct Investing. "Community will enable our clients to investigate leads and seek out information on smaller companies that might not otherwise get extensive coverage in traditional mainstream media."
Community is part of a wider site redesign by RBC, which is also adding a 'sectors and industries' page to allow investors to target areas and obtain more granular trending information. The bank says a 'trading dashboard' will be added this summer which will enable more active traders to consolidate research, tracking and execution on a single screen.
Earlier this year RBC launched a financial advice blog written by students that can be accessed via its fan page on social networking site Facebook. The blogs, along with videos, are available through the bank's Web site as well as the "RBC Bankbook" page on the social networking site.