The Rise of Finfluencers: How Social Media is Reshaping Investment Decisions in 2025

In early 2025, a 23-year-old social media influencer from Delhi posted an Instagram Reel explaining how he grew his stock portfolio from ₹50,000 to ₹5 lakhs in a year using just five simple strategies. Within hours, the video reached a million views. Thousands of young followers began sharing it and asking for more tips.

This is the world of finfluencer, or a financial influencer. They are social media influencers creating finance-related content on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. They now lead the way in how young adults view investing, saving, and financial autonomy.

Increasingly, millennials and Gen Z are avoiding traditional financial planners and opting for fast, easily accessible advice on the web. While this shift empowers consumers with new knowledge, it also raises significant questions about accuracy, accountability, and long-term risk. In this blog, we explore how the trend of finfluencers is shaping investment decisions, what this implies for the future of financial education, and why systematic learning through an investment banking course is still relevant.

The Evolution of Financial Advice

For many years, money advice came from primarily certified counsellors, investment banks, and serious publications like The Economic Times or Mint. Information was gated, and investing for individuals appeared to be complicated and the province of the financially knowledgeable or wealthy.

The last decade witnessed the financial revolution open financial knowledge to everyone. YouTube channels, Reddit threads, and Instagram personalities began shattering complex concepts. Channels like “CA Rachana Phadke Ranade” and “Pranjal Kamra” started making investment simple, receiving millions of viewers across India.

This democratization of information is a double-edged sword. It has enabled financial inclusion, yet flooded the internet with diluted advice. Without a background understanding of basic principles such as risk management or diversification of portfolios, most audience members are victims to taking popular tips for granted. A proper investment banking course can provide the foundation that the youngest investors are currently lacking.

The Finfluencer Economy Emerges

Top Finance Influencers in India – Image source: videaze.com

Finfluencers are individuals who have accumulated enormous followings online and, as a payback, post money management tips, saving advice, and investment tips. They may not even need to be licensed experts. They encompass self-taught investors who have spun their own stories into content or those with a little finance knowledge operating in the space between education and entertainment.

Globally, channels such as Andrei Jikh, Graham Stephan, and Mark Tilbury have gained massive audiences. At a local level, channels such as Anushka Rathod, Sharan Hegde (Finance with Sharan), and Neha Nagar are go-to sources for bite-sized finance content.

These influencers mostly operate on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Twitter. They create content that is typically entertaining, interactive, and aimed at being viral. They mostly earn money from their influence through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, brand collaborations, and online courses.

According to a 2024 UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) report, more than 85% of investors aged between 18 and 40 turn to social media for investment ideas, and nearly half rely on it as their go-to source of information. This number, cited by The Times, indicates the prominence of finfluencers in modern investment culture.

Although they are well-liked, the majority of these creators do not receive any proper training to give sound investment advice. A certified investment banking course is where one is needed. It helps budding professionals to give informed and ethical advice, making them different from entertainment-oriented influencers.

Impact on Young and Retail Investors

The impact of social media on investment is most significant among young, first-time investors. Finance is no longer daunting for many. It seems accessible due to influencers who speak using relatable terms and personal experiences.

This shift has introduced greater financial engagement. But it has also introduced new dangers. The majority of viewers become overconfident by viewing a couple of clips and start high-risk investments without proper research. The herd psychology is also prevalent, where thousands of members follow the same stock tip because it has gone viral, and not because it is financially warranted.

A 2024 report by Morningstar found that most retail investors seek investment guidance from social media without ensuring the authenticity of the information. In India, this has been followed by increasing interest in digital currency as well as mobile stock trading applications.

These behavioral habits can lead to impulsive decisions, short-term losses, and disappointment with investing. Unlike viral material, an investment banking course teaches students structured decision-making, financial modeling, and due diligence skills required to navigate actual market conditions.

Discover how India’s youngest generation is changing the rules of money management from embracing fintech to championing financial independence. Read how Gen Z is redefining personal finance in India.

The Regulatory Conundrum

Regulators all over the world are now grappling with how to handle this new type of influence. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already penalized influencers who promoted stocks and cryptocurrencies without disclosure. In India, SEBI has also issued a series of advisories cautioning investors against depending on unverified social media advice.

Despite all of these attempts, it is still difficult to control. Content is distributed faster than it can be checked. Influencers too often avoid legal responsibility by couching their recommendations in terms of experience or opinion. Few have any type of financial advisory qualification, and so regulators are limited in how they can discipline them.

There are a few social media platforms that are headed towards establishing financial content policies. YouTube presently requires disclaimers from finance content creators. Instagram and short content channels are presently beginning to distribute content labels to financial offers. Enforcement, however, is patchy.

There is growing consensus that registration or certification may become obligatory for whoever delivers investment advice online. This would improve consumer protection and serve to make things clearer. Meanwhile, consumers’ best protection is education. Learning a formal investment banking program prepares future professionals with the ethical foundation and analytical tools necessary to deal with today’s fast-evolving financial reality.

The Use of Data and Analytics in Influencer Investing

With the era of social media investing, data holds considerable power. Websites such as YouTube and Instagram have advanced algorithms to promote finance content that gets plenty of action. This equates to emotive videos, ones that deliver a promise of huge returns or immediate wealth becoming viral to a large degree, without consideration for correctness.

Retail investors, particularly Gen Z, are increasingly using tools such as smallcase, Zerodha’s console, and Groww’s dashboard for data-driven decision-making. Yet, even with the growing availability of analytics, most do not understand how to read charts, ratios, or valuation metrics. This is where formal training comes into play.

A structured financial analytics course teaches not only how to read financial data but also how to extract tangible insights from it. Subject matter such as predictive modeling, risk analytics, and financial KPIs provides students with the depth that social media advice cannot provide.

For instance, an individual who has undertaken a course in financial analytics is able to gauge the long-term sustainability of a stock instead of responding to short-term market movements or influencer sentiment. They are able to critically examine fundamental ratios, macroeconomic information, and industry performance. This analytical method creates long-term financial stability.

Opportunities and Risks for Financial Brands

Image source: Biznext

The impact of finfluencers hasn’t escaped financial brands. Mutual fund houses, stockbrokers, and fintech start-ups are also actively tying up with top content creators to market products. In India, companies like Zerodha and Upstox have made use of influencer marketing to target first-time investors.

While this creates potent avenues for brand presence, it is fraught with risks. Unregulated endorsements can deceive consumers. In 2023, some creators were taken to task by SEBI for endorsing trading apps without referring to related risks or receiving compensation.

Financial institutions need to strike a balance between reach and responsibility. Partnering with trained professionals ideally ones who have undertaken an investment banking or a financial analytics course ensures the quality and regulatory compliance of content.

In addition, ethical financial marketing requires greater transparency. Disclaimers, sources of data, and risk notices should be the standard in influencer campaigns. Financial literacy and suitability of products should come before clicks and conversions.

The Future of Financial Education in the Age of Finfluencers

As financial guidance becomes more social, the future of financial education will have to change. With a hybrid model in the works, one that blends the ease of finfluencer content with the substance of academic teaching, financial education will become more standardized and professional.

There is the potential for certified influencers: trained professionals who marry credibility with social media savvy. This might be promoted through regulatory policies that require certifications or sponsorships for those providing online financial advice.

Institutions providing a course in financial analytics or an investment banking course also need to evolve. Incorporating modules on digital content ethics, financial communications, and influencer economics may equip students for next-generation finance jobs. No longer the domain of marketers alone, these are going to be requirements for financial professionals who are increasingly going to be responsible for establishing public trust via online channels.

Young investors, in turn, need to learn how to screen sources, challenge viral guidance, and confirm financial information before acting upon it. Critical thinking and data literacy are no less critical than knowing portfolios or market cycles.

Conclusion: Striking the Right Balance

Finfluencers have placed finance in the cultural limelight, making it accessible, cool, and chatty. They have empowered millions to begin their financial journeys, frequently sooner than past generations. But as with any influential tool, their power needs to be used sensitively.

For individual investors, the secret is balancing utilizing social media for awareness and structured learning for decision-making. Taking a professional investment banking course can be the connecting link between pithy counsel and sound action.

While the landscape keeps changing, regulators, schools, brands, and influencers have to join hands to create a reliable financial ecosystem. An ecosystem where engagement is not made at the expense of ethics and education is not traded for entertainment.