The Digital Asset Content Gap: What Advisors Need from Asset Managers

Digital assets are moving into the wealth channel faster than most content strategies can keep up. There are now more than 170 digital asset funds (mostly ETFs and ETPs), according to Morningstar, and new products are launching almost daily.

For asset managers, the speed creates both an opportunity and a specific challenge: advisors are being asked to make recommendations in a category where the content and education infrastructure hasn’t kept pace.

To understand what’s happening on the ground—and what content can do about it—Wentworth Financial Communications surveyed 200 advisors already engaged with digital assets, either allocating today or planning to within 24 months. The result is our new e-book, Digital Assets in the Wealth Channel: Unlocking Adoption Through Content. The findings can help sharpen your content strategy.

Who we surveyed

Our survey respondents are experienced and influential at their firms—and they aren’t casually watching the digital asset market from the sidelines. Nearly nine in 10 have at least 15 years of experience. Three-quarters work with clients who have $1 million or more in investable assets. And 83% play a role in deciding which products appear on their firm’s approved list.

Of the 200 advisors surveyed, 48% currently allocate to digital assets in client portfolios, with a median allocation of 1%–2%. The remaining 52% plan to allocate within the next 24 months.

Content is more influential than asset managers may realize

One of the survey’s clearest findings is that content directly shapes how advisors think, evaluate, and act when it comes to digital assets.

Nearly two-thirds of advisors say content influences their own willingness to consider digital assets and their clients’ receptiveness. Nearly three-quarters say it shapes which managers they trust and which products they select.

Source: 2026 Digital Assets Survey, Wentworth Financial Communications.

The challenge: a wide credibility gap

Despite content’s influence, advisors aren’t satisfied with what they’re getting. Only 2% rate current digital asset content as “very effective.”

The problem, in large part, is credibility. Hype-driven content has defined much of the digital assets marketing landscape, and advisors have watched the asset class through multiple cycles of boom and correction. Content that ignores volatility or glosses over risk doesn’t just fail to move the needle—it actively erodes trust. Advisors told us that hype-avoidance is one of the top reasons they remain cautious about recommending these products to clients.

Four themes shaping the path forward

Our research points to four interconnected themes that should guide how asset managers approach digital asset content strategy:

• Credibility before conversion: Advisors need to trust the messenger before they’ll engage with the message. Hype-heavy content actively undermines that trust.
• Advisors aren’t in the driver’s seat: Nearly 90% of advisors say that their clients access digital assets through a mix of channels or primarily on their own. Content must bridge the gap between what clients are doing independently and what advisors recommend.
• Build for the conversation, not the close: What advisors say they need most are  talking points, risk explainers, and portfolio role frameworks—not material that sells clients on the asset class.
• Familiar formats, shorter lengths: Advisors prefer shorter, more digestible formats, such as fact sheets and quick-hitting articles, across all use cases. Engagement drops sharply past four pages. CE credit is a meaningful lever for driving longer-form consumption.

What this means for content strategy

The competition to capture advisor mindshare in digital assets is intensifying. Our survey makes clear that content matters, but it also reveals how much room there is to improve.

The asset managers that stand out will likely be those that resist the temptation to overpromote the category and instead help advisors do three things well: evaluate vehicles, explain portfolio role, and manage client expectations around risk and volatility.

The full e-book dives deeper into digital asset adoption patterns, vehicle preferences, barriers, content effectiveness, and format preferences. Download it here for free: Digital Assets in the Wealth Channel: Unlocking Adoption Through Content

About the Author Scott Wentworth, CEO at Wentworth Financial Communications. Scott leads a team of writers and editors at Wentworth to help firms across the financial services industry build their brands and articulate their expertise by creating investment-grade content.