Finfluencers: A guide to personal financial content creators

The evolution of finfluencers

The rise of social media has given consumers new ways to learn about topics that may previously have been inaccessible or intimidating to the average person. Since anyone can create and share content on these platforms, social media also allows for a more diverse range of perspectives to be shared. This is equally true in the case of finfluencers.

Finfluencers are, by definition, individuals who create content for social platforms that share information and advice around personal finance. Sample content might include the following:

• Explainers on retirement accounts.
• Basic guides to investing.
• Credit card comparisons.

The content is usually free for the audience, with the finfluencer making their money through advertising, brand partnerships and platform creator funds that reward high viewing numbers. They might also sell personalized advice sessions or extra resources, alongside their social content.

While some finfluencers share static graphics or written explainers with their audiences, video content has proven particularly effective for financial advice. Customer engagement platform Emplifi found that, between April 2023 and April 2024, finfluencers saw double the median follower growth on YouTube and Instagram than influencers from any other category on those platforms; large accounts (between 100,000 and 1 million followers) on Instagram saw median growth of nearly 15%. Meanwhile, leading influencers such as YouTube-based Graham Stephan and Instagram-based Erika Kullberg both have over 5 million followers each at the time of writing.

Since finfluencers' success comes from their online popularity, their content will often follow broader trends to stay relevant. The recent popularity of cryptocurrency, for example, may encourage some finfluencers to create related content that will resonate with their audience and attract more views; the CFA Institute and FINRA reported that over half of U.S. Gen Z investors (55%) were invested in cryptocurrency in 2023. Other content might be tied to the economic environment or common financial situations, such as sharing tips for budgeting during a recession, strategies for paying off debt, tools for salary negotiations or advice on maximizing a company's 401(k) match.

Impact on financial markets and retail investors

Finfluencers frequently recommend specific actions or products in their content, just like influencers in other markets. In finance, this could mean signing up for a specific credit card or buying stock in a specific company; the CFA Institute found that 45% of finfluencer content on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube could be classified as guidance, while 36% contained investment promotions and 32% contained investment recommendations.

For many young or new investors, finfluencers have made investing more accessible, in terms of both simpler language and free exposure. The World Economic Forum reports that 86% of Gen Z have learned about personal investing by the time they enter the workforce, compared to 47% of Baby Boomers. This education has led to a new group of retail investors who are trading their own money directly in the market: 30% of Gen Z started to make investments in either university or early adulthood.

Taking investment advice from those with more experience is a well-established practice, but finfluencers have disrupted the traditional industry through the scale of their reach. Whereas a standard investment advisor might only work with a small portfolio of clients, a finfluencer can speak to millions of followers with every post.

If a finfluencer has a particularly large audience, a single stock recommendation can have substantial influence in the financial markets. One of the most famous examples of this was GameStop, when users of the subreddit r/wallstreetbets on social platform Reddit triggered a short squeeze on the stock, after finfluencer Keith Gill (also known on YouTube as Roaring Kitty) shared his investment advice to buy GameStop stock. Millions of users viewed this content, and their stock purchases pushed up the price by 1,500% over two weeks.

Stock recommendations can come from anywhere, and while it is not illegal to share stock market opinions, doing so can lead to some regulatory gray areas.

Regulatory landscape and compliance issues

Traditional investment advisors must follow specific regulations set by the SEC and obtain a qualification before they can be registered as practicing advisors. They are also beholden to several fiduciary responsibilities for their clients, such as the duty to provide the best advice for their clients. These regulations serve to protect consumers from predatory advisors and maintain integrity within the profession.

By contrast, a finfluencer can be any person off the street who wants to upload a financial opinion to a social platform. As such, there are no current regulations that specifically address finfluencer content, leaving them to set their own guidelines. While many finfluencers may choose to follow the tenets of fiduciary responsibility to their viewers, others may not be as compliant.

One area that has been legislated over is the requirement for influencers to disclose when they have been paid for a piece of promotional content, such as labelling a video with "#ad." However, this does not always happen and finfluencers are no exception: The CFA Institute's 2024 report found that only 20% of finfluencer content that contained recommendations was labelled with any kind of disclosure, while only 53% of promotional content contained a disclosure.

Finfluencers may also be recommending products that they benefit from selling, rather than purely due to performance. For example, if they have a partnership with a company, they might receive payment for every new customer they get to enroll with the company, which can leave viewers vulnerable to manipulation and potential financial loss.

Not all compliance issues come from willful manipulation. A finfluencer could cause harm to a company's reputation or stock value through peddling misinformation, whether intentionally or not. Even if they apologize, this could cause long-lasting damage. However, in extreme cases of this kind of market manipulation, finfluencers can be – and have been – prosecuted for stock manipulation schemes.

Benefits and risks for followers

Finfluencers can provide a useful service for people looking to learn more about personal finance, offering several clear benefits, including the following:

• Improved accessibility, since content is free and readily available.
• Diverse perspectives that cater to different financial backgrounds and wealth levels.
• Entry-level guidance that lets people dip their toes into investing, before they commit to paying an advisor.
• A more entertaining and engaging way to participate in retail investing.

There are also risks, however:

• Finfluencers may promote certain actions through partnerships or other paid opportunities rather than through purely independent recommendations.
• The content may include misinformation, especially if the finfluencer themself is still new to the industry.
• New trends in personal finance may be pushed to drive views and gain followers, rather than because of sound economic performance.

Ultimately, it's important that followers remember that recommendations are just suggestions, not a guarantee of performance.

5 top finfluencers to watch in 2025

The finfluencer market is a growing and evolving segment, but several influencers in this category are worth watching in 2025 and beyond. After looking at some of the most popular finance figures across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, these five finfluencers each report millions in followers and speak to a specific personal finance experience that is evidently resonating with their audience. They are listed in order of descending follower count, with each creator reaching a combined audience of at least two million.

Erika Kullberg

Handle: @erikankullberg

Follower count: 9 million (TikTok), 5.5 million (Instagram), 2.3 million (YouTube)

After starting out as a corporate lawyer, Erika Kullberg paid off $200,000 in student loans in two years and decided to share her personal finance experience with the public. In addition to her social channels, Kullberg hosts the Erika Taught Me podcast and runs a personal website. Her video content primarily involves explainers and role-play situations for personal finance management.

Vivian Tu

Handle: @your.richbff

Follower count: 3.6 million (Instagram), 2.7 million (TikTok), 1.13 million (YouTube)

Vivian Tu has a professional background in finance, having worked as a trader at JPMorgan Chase. In addition to her social media content, Tu produces the podcast Networth and Chill and has written the book Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life. Her content focuses on personable explainers around personal finance topics.

Humphrey Yang

Handle: @humphreytalks

Follower count: 3.4 million (TikTok), 1.7 million (YouTube), 708,000 (Instagram)

Humphrey Yang is another finfluencer who left a full-time career in finance advisory to pursue social media content. Following his time at Merrill Lynch, Yang has built an online presence that focuses on retail investing for beginners. His short videos on TikTok have attracted a large audience and often follow the format of Yang playing two characters in conversation: a personal finance newbie and their more experienced friend.

Tori Dunlap

Handle: @herfirst100k

Follower count: 2.4 million (TikTok), 2.2 million (Instagram), 18,200 (YouTube)

In 2016, Tori Dunlap committed to saving an emergency fund of $100,000 before she turned 25, which she achieved. Since then, Dunlap has created content around saving money and feminist money management, often incorporating social issues into her financial guidance. In addition to her social content, Dunlap produces the Financial Feminist podcast and has published the New York Times bestselling book Financial Feminist.

Tyler Gardner

Handle: @socialcapofficial

Follower count: 1.3 million (Instagram), 964,000 (TikTok), 37,200 (YouTube)

With two decades of experience in managing financial portfolios, Tyler Gardner has built a large following on Instagram for his advice on social security and retirement investing. His content involves him speaking directly to the camera as he walks around outdoors in Vermont. Gardner also runs the podcast "Your Money Guide on the Side."

Madeleine Streets is a senior content manager for WhatIs. She has also been published in 'TIME,' 'WWD,' 'Self' and Observer.'