Focus on Finfluencers – Global Week of Action

Overview

In June 2025, nine regulators from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Austria and the United Kingdom took part in a “global week of action against unlawful finfluencers”.

Finfluencers are social media personalities who use platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram to promote financial products and share insights and advice with their followers.  Whilst there are legitimate finfluencers, a growing number of individuals may be acting illegally without authorisation in promoting financial products or services using posts and videos making misleading or deceptive representations about the prospects of success from the products or trading strategies they promote, sharing images of lavish lifestyles, sportscars or other luxury goods.

This article sets out how regulators around the world are reacting to the risks posed (in particular to retail and younger investors) by:

• finfluencers; and 
• the firm that use them (or whose products/services are promoted). 

An increasing challenge for regulators relates to cross-jurisdictional issues.  Issues arise where firms using finfluencers are acting on a cross-border basis. For example, in Hong Kong, the SFC pressed an overseas virtual asset trading platform to stop targeting the Hong Kong public by terminating affiliate arrangements with finfluencers, as well as engaging with social media platforms to remove social media posts and profiles impersonating public figures and promoting unauthorised investment products.  In British Columbia, Canada, the BCSC issued letters to YouTubers around the world who are promoting British Colombia companies explaining how to comply with the relevant rules.  The cross-border angle is an area we are closely watching at aosphere.

The focus on finfluencers ties in with a wider trend of regulators focused on enhancing retail investor protection more generally as well as addressing the particular risks posed by crypto assets. In May 2025, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a final report on finfluencers (the IOSCO Finfluencers Report) and proposed a number of good practices for regulators, market intermediaries and finfluencers.

Global week of action - what were the regulators doing?

In the United Kingdom the FCA made 3 arrests with the support of the City of London Police; authorised criminal proceedings against 3 individuals; invited 4 finfluencers for interview; sent 7 cease and desist letters; and issued 50 warning alerts.  The warning alerts were set to result in over 650 take down requests on social media platforms and more than 50 websites operated by unauthorised finfluencers. 

Steve Smart, the joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA said “Our message to finfluencers is loud and clear.  They must act responsibly and only promote financial products where they are authorised to do so – or face the consequences.”

In Australia eighteen finfluencers received warnings from ASIC for promoting high-risk products and providing unlicensed financial advice.  In some instances, finfluencers were arrested for their actions, whilst others were ordered to take their websites down.  ASIC also highlighted that consumers should check out the credentials of finfluencers using ASIC’s professional registers search tool.

In the United Arab Emirates, the SCA actively participated in the international campaign through a series of coordination measures, including public awareness campaigns, educational workshops for financial influencers, as well as strict enforcement measures against violators. At the end of May 2025, the SCA also launched the region’s first finfluencer licence, aiming to establish a clear governance framework for finfluencers and to enhance investor protection in the UAE.  The licence is available to individuals who offer financial or investment recommendations related to regulated products or entities within the UAE through digital or traditional media.  Eligible applicants must register with the SCA and comply with all regulatory obligations.

In Italy, CONSOB issued a special warning to savers who follow finfluencers online.  This stated that savers should pay particular attention to those offers that are recklessly presented as very profitable and risk-free as well as conflicts of interest that may affect the finfluencers themselves.  Additionally, CONSOB warned finfluencers that the activity must be carried out in compliance with the regulations, particularly with regards to investment recommendations and market abuse.  Finfluencers must also ensure that the information they promote is correct and comply with the rules on transparency on potential conflicts of interest.

In Hong Kong, the SFC commenced a thematic inspection in April 2025 to assess securities brokers’ compliance with applicable regulatory requirements when engaging finfluencers and digital platforms.  The SFC has also undertaken enforcement actions including suspending the licence of a finfluencer who was criminally convicted for providing investment advice via a chat group beyond the scope of his licence as well as commencing criminal prosecution against another finfluencer for unlicensed regulated activities.

In Austria, the FMA invited 20 registered Austrian finfluencers to Vienna to discuss the applicable legal framework aiming to raise awareness about the applicable regulations particular with regards to investment advice and investment recommendations.

In Canada:

• Ontario - the OSC reviewed 87 finfluencers and 9 issuers that hired finfluencers for stock promotions.  The OSC observed that “there was a spectrum in the quality and accuracy of information shared by finfluencers, with some providing investment advice without appropriate registration.  Several finfluencers were found to have provided misleading information, particularly in the crypto space”.
• Quebec - the AMF stated that it aims to raise public awareness of the risks and to draw finfluencers’ attention to the potentially illegal aspects of their activities whilst contemplating targeted actions against specific finfluencers.  The AMF also published a webpage explaining the rules that finfluencers needed to follow.  The AMF’s investigations team contacted a long list of Quebec finfluencers to raise awareness, caution them or ask them to remove content from their posts.  In certain cases, the AMF opened investigations into illegal activities.   
• British Columbia - the BCSC hand delivered a caution letter to a Vancouver-area finfluencer about potentially unregistered activity and specifying that legal advice should be received before promoting securities-related services.  
• Alberta – the ASC stated that in April 2025, the ASC found that a content creator had violated Alberta’s securities laws by promoting investments without disclosing that he was posting on behalf of those companies.  According to comments on his YouTube videos, his followers lost real money acting on his recommendations. 

IOSCO Finfluencers Report

The IOSCO Finfluencers Report identified gaps in regulatory coverage, particularly for unregistered individuals who influence retail investors without the professional qualifications or oversight of registered investment advice professionals.  IOSCO also highlighted the global reach of social media that complicates jurisdiction oversight and enforcement. 

IOSCO proposed good practices for regulators, market intermediaries and finfluencers and sets out that as the influence of finfluencers continues to grow, regulators could consider adopting these good practices to prioritise investor protection. The proposed good practices include:

• avoiding advertising higher-risk or more complex financial products to retail investors except in compliance with conditions/guidance issued by regulators;
• having a rigorous selection policy for finfluencers (e.g. researching their credentials, education etc), and having agreements with them that set out the rules and compliance obligations applicable to the finfluencer;
• having appropriate risk management frameworks to monitor the activities of finfluencers;
• providing a standard template for a disclaimer to ensure consistency and compliance, that sets out whether the finfluencer is licensed to provide investment advice, and if they are being compensated;
• having in place robust conflicts management procedures to manage conflicts between market intermediaries, finfluencers and potential investors, and to make applicable disclosures where appropriate; and
• ensuring the finfluencer’s content uses plain language, and contains clear, impartial, and accurate information on the products they are discussing.

IOSCO also offers 10 practical tips for retail investors that follow or engage with finfluencers intended to help them better evaluate content from finfluencers.  For further discussion of the IOSCO reports, please see our separate article.

This focus on finfluencers and the firms that use them is here to stay.