Massachusetts is looking into the social media practices of investment advisers who work in the state. A recent survey conducted by the Securities Division of the State Secretary found that many of them are not complying with regulations that govern the use of social media to communicate with investors and require supervisors to monitor it.

According to the report, 69 percent of investment advisers that use social media have no written record retention policies for social media content, and 57 percent didn't retain all online content posted by the firm.

“Based on this analysis, the Division believes that additional regulatory guidance concerning the use of social media would be appropriate to assist Massachusetts-registered investment advisers in maintaining a compliant practice,” the Division said in the report.

The survey also found that 44 percent of the advisers used at least one form of social media to promote their advisory business, and 10 percent of those who don't currently use social media to communicate with their clients have expressed interest in using the platform within the next 12 months. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter were the preferred choice of social network sites for business communications. Over 79 percent of the 576 investment advisers registered in the state responded to the survey.

Massachusetts is now assembling a working group to consider guidelines and best practice standards for social media use by state-registered investment advisers. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority released guidance last year for member firms on the use of social media.