
The Young Money report by reputation management consultancy MRM found that social media is the most popular place to find money information for those under 30, with 59% saying they follow finfluencers.
Three-quarters of London’s young people said they follow these financial influencers, while only a quarter of UK youth said they get financial information from newspapers or the television.
Asking for more
However, the study also revealed that young people have high expectations of their financial services providers, with almost half believing that these providers should be responsible for providing them with financial education and guidance. That’s a higher percentage than those who believed that their family should be providing this guidance, a view held by four in 10.
Chris Tuite, head of consumer finance at MRM, said the study delivered a message to financial services firms from the 18-30-year-old age group: “They want financial services firms to step up and regain their finfluence.
“They say they need real, reliable financial guidance, and they expect financial services firms to provide it.”

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The danger of social media
Similar figures from the 2022 Young Money report were quoted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is the financial regulator, in 2023, when it proposed tougher rules on social media promotion of financial services.
This year’s study shows that younger people still place a lot of trust in those with a social media presence.
Only 3% said they did not trust information from a financial influencer, while 77% said they did.
Over one in 10 respondents said they would take financial action based purely on what they had seen from an influencer.
Reaching the young
Tuite said that, although financial services firms were making the same effort as finfluencers to be on the right social media platforms, they were “not able to garner the same attention as this new breed of finfluencers.”
“The key question financial services providers must grapple with is how to do that,” he added.
The FCA has already begun to crack down on illegal finfluencers. In October, it announced that it had interviewed 20 finfluencers under caution and issued alerts to 38 more that it believed may be touting financial products illegally.
Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Finfluencers are trusted by the people who follow them; often young and potentially vulnerable people attracted to the lifestyle they flaunt.
“Finfluencers need to check the products they promote to ensure they are not breaking the law and putting their followers’ livelihoods and life savings at risk.”
Sarah Porretta, CEO of Young Enterprise, said the report was “eye-opening”.
Porretta said: “There will always be numerous influences on young people’s financial capability, including that of social media. Whilst there are very credible and engaging sources of financial education available from ‘finfluencers’, there is also a great deal of misinformation, and sometimes even deliberate manipulation, which young people can fall victim to.”
“In a world where, according to Young Enterprise’s data, over half of secondary school students do not receive adequate financial education, today’s revelation is especially concerning. What this report proves is that it is never too early for our young people to receive high-quality, consistently delivered, financial education.”
She added: “Education delivered by teachers in school settings is the most sustainable way of ensuring a young person receives the crucial education necessary to avoid being taken advantage of. It also ensures that young people receive a strong foundation on which to build their knowledge, skills and attitudes.
“Our education system is not set up for success in this area currently, with teachers not having the time or resources to properly invest in financial education. Educators need proper support, through curriculum reform, professional development and easy access to tools and resources to ensure young people can discern credible money guidance from misinformation.”