Something has changed in the way investors learn about money. It did not happen inside a branch office or through a research report. It happened on YouTube, Reddit, Instagram and everywhere else people spend their time online, where financial information is now immediate, personal and seemingly endless. For advisors, that can feel threatening.
But Stephanie Wolfe, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing at Global X Canada, sees something very different happening1. The explosion of financial content may actually be making credible advice more valuable. Global X research found that seven out of ten participants were consuming financial creator content, while nine out of ten viewers took some form of action afterward. That means this is no longer some fringe corner of the investment world. People are learning about ETFs, alternatives, market trends and new strategies from creators they follow online, and that information is finding its way into real financial decisions.
The content itself has changed too. Investors increasingly want information that can be understood quickly, and Wolfe points to a sweet spot of roughly two to five minutes, often focused on one idea at a time. But that does not mean investors have stopped valuing expertise. In fact, the opposite may be happening. Global X found that advisors and mainstream financial media remain among the most trusted sources of information. The creator may introduce an idea, the investor may research it further, and they may even use AI to verify what they heard, but the advisor often remains the person they eventually turn to and ask, "What does this actually mean for me?"
That question sits at the heart of the shift. There was a time when an advisor was often the person introducing a client to an investment concept for the first time. Now, the client may arrive already knowing about covered calls, private credit, alternatives or a new ETF strategy because they watched someone explain it online the night before. That changes the conversation. It becomes less about being the only source of information and more about helping clients make sense of the information they already have.
Wolfe argues that advisors should lean into those moments. Ask where the idea came from. Ask why it caught the client's attention. Ask what they think it could do for their portfolio, then explain whether it actually fits. That process can build credibility rather than weaken it. The investor feels heard, the advisor gets a better understanding of what matters to the client, and a piece of online content that might initially look like competition becomes the starting point for a better conversation.
Advisors Do Not Need to Become Finfluencers
One of the more reassuring parts of Wolfe's argument is that advisors do not need to suddenly become full-time content creators. Most simply do not have the time, and they do not need to be on every platform. An advisor who hates Instagram does not need an Instagram strategy. Instead, Wolfe suggests paying attention to the questions clients repeatedly ask and finding a comfortable way to address them. That could mean a short video, a newsletter, a quarterly client event built around one topic, or even an informal Ask Me Anything session. The format matters less than showing clients that you are listening, because ultimately the advisor's advantage is not volume. It is context.
Wolfe also points to a common mistake financial professionals make when communicating with clients: they lead with what happened in the market. Interest rates moved, stocks rallied, an index declined, a central bank changed course. All useful information, but the investor is usually asking a much simpler question: so what? What does this mean for my portfolio? What does it change about my future? Should I be doing anything differently? Financial professionals understand markets deeply, which can make it easy to assume clients understand why a particular development matters. Often, they do not. Wolfe's advice is to reverse the order. Start with what it means to the investor, then explain the market event behind it.
That may become even more important as AI-generated content gets better, deepfakes become harder to spot and investors pull information from more sources than ever. More information does not always create more confidence. Sometimes it creates paralysis, and that is where Wolfe believes the advisor becomes even more important. Investors do not make decisions through one clean, linear process. They collect signals from creators, advisors, media, friends, AI tools and their own experiences, then try to work out which pieces actually matter to them. Someone still has to help bring all of that together. Creators can spark curiosity, AI can help people explore, and research can provide evidence, but the advisor can provide something those sources cannot fully replicate: judgment grounded in the investor's actual circumstances.
That may be the real story behind the rise of finfluencers. They are not necessarily replacing advice. They may be creating more reasons for investors to seek it.
Listen to the full conversation with Stephanie Wolfe on Insight is Capital for a deeper discussion on finfluencers, investor behaviour, AI, trust and how advisors can remain relevant in a world where their clients have access to more financial information than ever before.
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Footnote:
1 "The Credibility Dividend: Why the Rise of Finfluencers is Making Real Advisors More Valuable, Not Less." AdvisorAnalyst, 18 Aug. 2026.
