Online brokerages invest in financial influencers

Online brokerages flush with funds are tapping into financial services influencers and content creators to aggressively target young investors warming up to financial markets, amid a global stock market boom. Over 10 million new demat accounts were added in India last year, BSE data showed. Of these, many were debutants on online investing platforms.

These first-time investors have been helped along by content creators and financial influencers on social media platforms, including Google-owned YouTube and Facebook-owned Instagram, who are teaching the mostly under-30s audience the basics of investment – for instance, how to read a draft red herring prospectus.

The retail investor influx has caused a surge in creators in the financial services space —albeit some with insufficient financial education or experience — in the past year, according to two leading influencer marketing firms.