Social media and AI have transformed financial advice, making it available at clients' fingertips. But even though inaccurate guidance from influencers and open-source LLMs can mislead clients, advisors say the plethora of online misinformation has helped their practices.
Investing, ETFs, managing debt and side hustles to build wealth quickly are the main focus of millions of videos on TikTok. The average FinTok, or financial TikTok, user spent over 400 hours scrolling through their feed in 2025, according to
The appetite for online advice is primarily fueled by low rates of financial literacy. Only about one-third of adults worldwide understand basic financial concepts, according to S&P Global. Seventy-five percent of respondents from a CFP board survey said they sought financial advice online in the last month.
What kind of money content is online?
The misinformation isn't sliding by financial professionals. Allan Boomer, chief investment officer of Momentum Advisors and host of the weekly podcast, "The Momentum Advisors," said when scrolling on social media, about three-quarters of the content he sees is inaccurate.
While some online misinformation comes from wealth advisors new to the field, Boomer said most of it comes from influencers, many of whom are unqualified.
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"I was on a panel discussion a year or two ago, and I was next to a young employee at that company who said, 'I get all my advice from social media, from TikTok in particular,'" Boomer said. "She referenced a couple of accounts and none of them were financial professionals."
A lot of financial content she's fed are higher risk, "get rich quick schemes," said Uchechi Kalu, founder of Los Angeles based-Greenlight Financial Planning. Most advice falls into the general strategies category that financial advisors would never give, she added, like trading with forex and derivatives.
Creators did not clearly state professional financial qualifications in 3 out of 4 TikTok advice videos in
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"In these strained economic conditions people are facing, some of these options have become a lot more attractive," Kalu said. "Folks are trying to figure out how to make the most out of the funds that they have, and sometimes it's just to pay their bills."
Clients often come to her inquiring about advice that isn't necessarily false, but requires specific circumstances, Kalu said.
For example, one person came in asking about a video where the creator said if they contribute to a 529 account starting when a child is born, they can transfer that money to a Roth IRA when the child turns 18 and get millions of dollars from it.
"Most people who have 529s actually use that money for college. And then this is assuming that at 18, your kid continuously puts a certain amount of money away. Are they going to have a job at 18? Or are they going to be in college at 18?" Kalu said. "It's not incorrect. It's just the actual application."
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What should wealth advisors do with misinformation
Despite the growing amount of online advice, wealth advisors remain the most trusted resource for financial decisions. Seventy four percent of respondents from the CFP board survey said they are "very comfortable" with implementing financial advice from wealth advisors.
Only 37% said they were very comfortable with implementing advice from social media.
Social media provides the opportunity for clients to be more curious about money, Boomer said, and taking the time to answer their online questions is what builds trust.
"Part of the value of a financial advisor is for the clients to utilize our time," Boomer said. "If they don't come to us with these types of questions, then eventually they're not going to need us anymore. It's part of our job is to listen and to give them the answers to the things that they're curious about."
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Controlling what clients consume online isn't productive, Kalu said. But advisors should work on establishing a relationship with their clients so eventually, they're their first stop financial advice — not the internet.
"Even if you've told them to ask you questions a million times, they will say, 'I don't want to bother you," Kalu said. "Then (they use) Instagram or TikTok or ChatGPT to give them an answer that you would have given them in like three minutes."
AI is transforming financial advice more than social media is, Kalu said, since it can develop personalized plans for clients — something influencers can't do. LLMs give better advice than influencers because it's designed to agree with the user, Boomer added.
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The biggest way advisors can help clients is to sift through the noise. Analysis paralysis often takes over when clients are bombarded with so many options, opinions and strategies.
"That's where the advisors have that value-add of helping to sift through the knowledge," Kalu said. "Just say, 'No. This is your specific situation. This is what you should be doing, and you can leave everything else by the wayside.'"
