Twelve months ago, Panacea explored the growing influence of “finfluencers" - social media personalities creating content around money, investing, budgeting, and financial decision-making.

 

At the time, the trend was already gaining momentum. Research suggested that 62% of UK adults aged 18–29 were following financial content creators online, with many saying that content was influencing real financial decisions.

 

A year later, the conversation has moved on significantly.

 

What once looked like a social media trend is increasingly becoming a broader industry conversation - spanning consumer behaviour, financial education, regulation, and even the future visibility of the advice profession.

 

 

Over the past 12 months, the Financial Conduct Authority has continued to increase its focus on online financial promotions and digital financial content.

 

In 2026, the regulator participated in a coordinated international initiative involving regulators across multiple jurisdictions, targeting online financial promotions that may have breached local rules or consumer protection standards.

 

The initiative resulted in requests for content removals, account reviews, and wider scrutiny of online financial marketing activity.

 

This reflects a broader shift: online financial content is no longer being viewed simply as consumer entertainment. It is increasingly being recognised as an area with potential consumer protection implications.

 

 

At the same time, consumer reliance on social media for financial information continues to grow.

 

Recent academic research suggests that around 40% of UK adults now use social media as a source of financial information. The same research found that a large majority of sampled financial content contained more negative than positive quality indicators, including limited disclosure, weak evidence, and insufficient discussion of risk.

 

For regulated advisers, this matters.

 

Financial opinions, investment narratives, and money habits are increasingly being shaped before many consumers ever engage with a professional adviser.

 

 

In 2025, Panacea’s adviser survey, completed by 79 financial advisers, highlighted just how far this trend has already entered regulated advice conversations.

 

The findings showed:

 

• 62.5% had experienced clients referencing financial influencer content in conversations
• 81.25% had already had to correct or challenge financial information clients had encountered online
• 93.75% cited lack of accountability as one of their biggest concerns
• Not a single respondent believed the current regulatory approach was fully sufficient

The message from advisers was clear: this is no longer a fringe issue.

 

It is becoming part of everyday client conversations.

 

 

Perhaps the most interesting shift over the past year is not regulatory - it’s behavioural.

 

Financial content creators are no longer relying solely on short-form videos. Many are now building broader educational ecosystems through podcasts, newsletters, subscriber communities, apps, and long-form content.

 

In other words, younger consumers are not just watching financial content.

 

They are building trust through it.

 

This creates an important question for the regulated advice profession:

 

If younger audiences are increasingly learning about money in digital spaces, how visible is regulated advice in those same environments?

 

 

While many advisers remain cautious about the risks associated with oversimplified or context-light financial content, the conversation may now be shifting beyond regulation alone.

 

There is growing recognition that digital platforms also present an opportunity.

 

They offer a chance for the profession to:

 

• improve public financial education
• challenge misinformation with credible, regulated insight
• build stronger visibility with younger consumers
• and potentially inspire future entrants into the advice profession 

The finfluencer debate is no longer simply about whether social media is influencing financial behaviour.

 

That is already happening.

 

The bigger question now is whether the regulated advice profession chooses to actively participate in shaping that conversation.

 

 

Chief Operating Officer, Panacea Adviser