The FINRA Investor Education Foundation published research profiling retail investors who use social media and follow “finfluencers” to inform investment decisions, finding that these investors are disproportionately younger and more diverse, but often show a pronounced knowledge-confidence gap and materially higher exposure to investment fraud. Using data from the Investor Survey component of the 2024 National Financial Capability Study, the research reports that 60% of investors aged 18–34 use social media for investing information versus 9% of those aged 55 or older, and 61% of 18–34 year olds made an investment decision based on a social media personality versus 6% of those 55 or older. Social-media-informed investors tended to be male, have lower portfolio values, and be more likely to be a person of color, with nearly half saying they do not identify as “typical investors.” Despite rating their investment knowledge as high (63%), social media users and finfluencer followers answered 42% of questions correctly on an objective investment knowledge quiz. Among respondents who reported being targeted for fraud, 68% of social media users and 69% of finfluencer followers reported losing money, compared with 29% and 26% for non-users and non-followers. The study also finds they consult more sources of information (7.6 on average versus 4.0 for non-users) and are more likely to check a financial professional’s background (36% versus 14%), while reporting stronger non-monetary motives for investing such as entertainment, social activity and supporting personal values.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 2026-04-02
FINRA Investor Education Foundation publishes research on finfluencer-driven investing and associated knowledge gaps and fraud risks
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation published research profiling retail investors who use social media and follow “finfluencers,” finding they are disproportionately younger, more diverse, and exhibit a pronounced knowledge-confidence gap alongside higher exposure to investment fraud. Social‑media‑informed investors are more likely to be male, have lower portfolio values, rely heavily on social media personalities for investment decisions, and suffer higher fraud losses, while also consulting more information sources, checking financial professionals’ backgrounds more often, and citing non‑monetary motives such as entertainment and social activity.