INTHEBLACK November 2026 - Magazine - Page 48
FEATURE
“To the extent that it helps educate people to understand
finance and to think clearly about the financial decisions
that they need to make, then [finfluencers] can play a positive
role. However, it is very easy for people to cross the line.”
PHIL ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ADVICE ASSOCIATION AUSTRALIA
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48 INTHEBLACK November 2026
“To the extent that it helps educate people
to understand finance and to think clearly
about the financial decisions that they need
to make, then it can play a positive role.
However, it is very easy for people to
cross the line.”
Anderson says the FAAA “strongly
discourages” people from making
decisions based purely upon their
interaction with finfluencers.
“You do not know what their
incentives are or what their
motives are. That is not the basis
on which to be making important
decisions about financial products.”
However, if engagement with
finfluencers encourages people to
think more deeply about their own
finances — such as understanding
salary sacrificing into superannuation,
accessing a superannuation pension
after age 60, or learning about basic tax
issues — then Anderson believes it can
be advantageous. “There is a lot that people
can gain from being exposed to information
that is helpful and constructive.”
The education of consumers is key
to making them aware of potential risks
from finfluencers with “ulterior motives”,
he continues, or those who are being
remunerated in ways that are not clearly
understood. Citing the recent collapse
of two large investment funds that cost
roughly 11,000 Australian investors around
A$1.1 billion in retirement savings, Anderson
also advocates for broader financial literacy
for the community so they can make
better-informed financial decisions.
“In many cases, people had 90 per cent of
their superannuation in one investment option,”
he says. “A lack of financial literacy was a big
factor in customers not understanding that
having 90 per cent of your money in one fund
was an unacceptable risk.”
As governments and regulators ponder
solutions to any negative impacts of financial
influencers, Kamalnath says it is clear from
India’s experience that simply banning
finfluencers does not work. “There is no
way you can. You might catch someone
and target that one person, but you cannot
know everything that is going on with
social media.”
She favours Australia’s approach of
building awareness among finfluencers
that they will need an Australian financial
services licence if their content crosses the
line between education and advice. “It helps
separate people who are actually doing good
versus people who are wanting to engage in
some sort of swindle.”
Kamalnath believes social media companies
should also play their part in the education
process — for example, implementing
automatic pop-up warnings or education
for online users whenever they engage
with finfluencer content. “We need creative
solutions,” she says.
STAY VIGILANT
As the rise of AI makes it even easier for
bad actors to mobilise online, Kirkland
says greater vigilance is required.
ASIC and other regulators are using
technology to identify dubious influencers
and other harmful online behaviour.
“Every day at ASIC, we are using AI to
analyse all of the intelligence that is coming
to us and identifying patterns or people that
are popping up repeatedly, which might
require us to take action,” Kirkland says.
As for Cher, she maintains that content
creators are merely contributing to greater
financial literacy and opening channels for
people to get more sophisticated advice
from licensed advisers. “We are the bridge
between the finance professionals and the
people on the street.” ■
