More and more influencers are offering financial advice on TikTok and YouTube. Should you take it?

If you've ever wondered how to navigate the stock market, build a budget or plan for retirement, your first stop might've once been a parent, a trusted friend or an advisor at the bank. 

But, increasingly, Canadians are tapping into a different source: "finfluencers," or online creators who make engaging, easy-to-understand videos about budgeting, investing and even cryptocurrency.

A recent survey by the Ontario Securities Commission surveying 655 Canadian retail investors — people who manage their own investments — found that 91 per cent use social media. Furthermore, 35 per cent say they've acted on financial advice from a finfluencer.

People who follow these influencers say they offer a fresh and relatable way to become financially literate — but the trend has financial experts concerned, leading to regulatory efforts around the world. 

Joyee Yang, a 26-year-old finfluencer from Toronto, has amassed a combined following of more than 300,000 across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Since she first started posting two and a half years ago, Yang has found an audience by making financial knowledge more accessible to young people.

"I think a lot of people crave financial education in a way where it's not too serious — like, I can't imagine 18-year-old me or 19-year old me walking in to see a financial advisor," Yang told Cost of Living.  

"But I will scroll on TikTok, on Instagram or I will just log into YouTube, pause whenever I need to, take notes whenever I need to and Google questions on the side if I need to — I think it's the future of learning for Gen Zs."

Yang is upfront with her followers about her lack of formal training in finance. Instead of credentials, she says she leans on lived experience. 

According to a 2024 survey by the Canadian Securities Administrators, more Canadians are investing on their own. Forty-five per cent of investors have self-directed accounts and 30 per cent of those were opened within the preceding two years.

Al Zhang, a high school math teacher based in Fort McMurray, Alta., began following finfluencers to grow his income shortly after landing his first job in 2022. 

"I was like, 'OK, I saved some money in my bank account, but how can I make that money work for myself?'" he said. "You usually hear about investing, but no one really tells you how you should do it."

For many young Canadians like Zhang, rising living costs have sparked a hunger for financial autonomy. 

"Like most young adults like myself, they don't really see a good certainty in their future — some of us are like, 'OK we're only getting paid this much, how can we build a future for ourselves?'" said Zhang.