The Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) has launched a digital campaign targeting “finfluencers,” urging people to talk to licensed financial advisers instead.
For those who can afford it and seek advice at the right times, I agree – quality advice can be invaluable. But here’s the reality: financial literacy is low for many Australians, and most people don’t even know if the advice they’re getting is truly suited to them.
Financial advice can seem like a maze to navigate, leaving people to turn to less trustworthy online sources.Credit: Simon Letch
Add to that the millions who simply can’t access affordable advice, and you’re left with people either trying to figure things out on their own or, worse, turning to influencer content that might not serve their best interests.
If we’re serious about building financial confidence in Australia, we need to look beyond pointing fingers at finfluencers. The real solution is self-help financial education – a nearly empty space where people can access unbiased, practical information without the sales pitch.
But here’s the catch: the financial advice industry isn’t set up to champion self-help education. A more financially literate public might not need advice as often, and that reality doesn’t drive revenue.
Instead of just criticising finfluencers, we should be learning from their approach – asking ourselves why people are turning to them in the first place.
Finfluencers pose a risk to everyone, but instead of just calling them out, maybe the financial advice industry could learn lessons from them
Let’s face it, most available financial education is dry, overly complex, or too disconnected from the real-life decisions people need to make. Why aren’t we investing in self-help financial education that’s engaging, accessible, and genuinely useful?
We need to fill........