The report emphasises Importance of traditional financial advisors amidst rising popularity for finfluencers. 

• Term ‘Finfluencers (or financial influencers)’ refers to individuals who uses social media to share information, recommendations, or guidance on financial advice, news or other related matters. 
  • They have potential to shape the financial decisions of individuals. 

Key highlights of report 

Reasons for rise in finfluencers

• Accessibility of social media: Around 60% of the global population uses social media.
• Feeling of inclusivity in content: Creators with diverse backgrounds across language, geography, race, ethnicity, and lived experience caters to a wider audience. 
• Engaging content: learning about financial topics is more engaging for novice investors through short, entertaining videos, memes and metaphors, to explain financial concepts.

Importance of traditional financial advisors

• Risk associated with finfluencers’ advice: Due to opaque algorithms, catchy posts may be prioritized over quality. 
• Ensuring individuals wellbeing: Traditional financial advisors and institutions have a critical role in ensuring access to holistic, personalized advice, risk management and education to enable successful investor outcomes.
  • This holds significance as retail investing volume doubled in the past decade, with 19.5% of stock market shares traded by retail investors in 2020 (Globally).