  Financial literacy and financial education are important components of modern
life. The importance of financial literacy is increasing for financial
consumers because of the weakening of both government and employer-based
retirement systems. Unfortunately, empirical research shows that financial
consumers are not fully informed and are not able to make proper choices even
when appropriate information is available. More research is needed as to how
financial consumers obtain investment and financial planning information. A
primary data study was conducted to understand the differences between the
demographic categories of gender, age, education-level, and income-level with
the means of obtaining investment and financial planning information. In this
research study, which selected a population from the LinkedIn platform,
statistical differences between gender, age, education-level, and income-level
were confirmed. These differences helped to confirm prior research in this
field of study. Practical opportunities for commercial outreach to specific
populations became evident through this type of research. Providers of
investment and financial planning information can access their targeted
audience more effectively by understanding the demographic profile of the
audience, as well as the propensity of the demographic profile of the audience
to respond. As this type of research is relatively easy to construct and
administer, commercial outreach for providers of investment and financial
planning information can be conducted in a cost-efficient and effective manner.
