One in five young adults get financial advice online, study shows

A new survey has shown that 35% of Irish adults get their financial advice from online sources, but many focus on ‘finfluencer’ advice.

The survey, carried out by IReach for Ask Accorn, spoke to 1,000 adults nationwide, finding that 35% of respondents get their information online. Just 23% of respondents said they used a financial advisor.

It found that women are twice as likely as men to turn to social media for financial guidance, while they are less likely to want financial advice on investing.

This could be down to the rise of ‘finfluencers’, who are content creators who share financial tips and advice with audiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Many experts agree that while this content can be helpful, a lot of it can be unregulated, unqualified and misleading.

In the survey, people were asked which areas they would like targeted financial advice in, such as budgeting (36% of respondents), followed by retirement and pensions (32%) and investing (29%).

CEO of Ask Accorn, CEO Keith Butler, said: “We are concerned about the extent to which some people are relying on sources that were never designed to replace professional financial advice. Online search, family and friends, social media, podcasts - these all have a role to play in building general awareness, but they can only ever offer a broad overview. What works for one person may be entirely unsuitable for another, and no algorithm or social media post can take individual circumstances, life stage, or financial goals into account.

“Nowhere is this more concerning than in the rise of the finfluencer. Social media has given a platform to a new generation of financial content creators who can reach hundreds of thousands of followers with commentary on everything from budgeting to investing. While some creators share useful educational content, others operate outside any regulatory framework, hold no professional qualifications, and have no obligation to act in their followers' best interests.

When one in five young adults is getting financial guidance from social media, it's a reminder that where people get their advice matters just as much as the advice itself.

Online research is particularly popular among younger adults aged 25 to 34 years old, with 59% of them using it for financial information, compared with 19% of those aged 55.

Interestingly, podcasts are fast becoming a popular area for accessing financial information, with 15% of 18 to 24-year-olds using them.

Mr Butler concluded: “What this research really highlights is that the financial decisions people face naturally change throughout their lives. For younger adults, the focus is often on getting onto the property ladder, managing a mortgage or starting to build longer-term financial security. For those later in their working lives, the priority shifts towards retirement planning and making sure those long-term goals remain on track.

“It's also interesting to see the difference in attitudes towards investing, with men more likely than women to identify it as an area where they would like advice. That gap is worth paying attention to, particularly as the Government develops plans for its new Investment Account aimed at encouraging more people to move money from low-yield deposits into longer-term investments. If that initiative is to reach its full potential, it will need to bring everyone, and that means making sure the right advice and guidance is accessible, not just the product itself”