The way that investors gather knowledge to guide their financial decisions has evolved over the years as social media and artificial intelligence render profound impacts across the sector.
A new study from Global X Investments Canada and National Bank Direct Brokerage found that more than 80% of “DIY” investors leverage AI or social “finfluencers” to help inform their strategies.
A survey conducted by RKI found that 77% of surveyed Canadians watch financial creators at least occasionally, while 56% have used AI as part of their investment process.
The report noted significant overlap between the two, noting that DIY investors who follow financial creators on social platforms are far more likely to utilize AI technologies for investing purposes—suggesting that many finfluencers encourage or use AI, with over 80% of viewers taking action after consuming creator content.
“The modern DIY investor isn’t waiting for information to come to them,” explains Stephanie Wolfe, an executive vice president who serves as Head of Marketing at Global X. “They are actively assembling it from multiple sources and using different tools for different parts of the process.”
“Financial creators are making investment ideas and concepts more accessible, while AI is giving investors a new way to explore those ideas, ask questions, and test their own thinking,” Wolfe said.
Creator content, according to Wolfe, “is not only driving the flow of investment dollars.”
“For many investors, it is helping make investing feel more understandable and approachable,” she says. “That can lead to better questions, greater confidence and, ultimately, a greater willingness to take control of their financial future.”
It’s not all about “doing it yourself,” either. One common action taken after consuming finfluencer content is contacting a financial advisor.
And, among those who already had advisors—46% of respondents are “Hybrid” investors manage some assets independently while also working with an professional—AI and social content has improved relationships by helping the clients ask better questions.
“We’re seeing a new generation of investors build knowledge in ways that would have been unimaginable a decade ago,” says Claude-Frédéric Robert, President of National Bank Direct Brokerage.
“The challenge is no longer access to information,” Robert said. “It’s understanding which sources to trust, how to validate ideas, and how to turn information into informed investment decisions.”
Not surprisingly, the survey found that AI adoption is higher among younger investors, with
Gen Z investors three times as likely as Boomers to use AI as part of their investment process.
With more than 50 funds listed on Canadian exchanges, Global X—a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mirae Asset Financial Group—has over $60 billion of assets under management.
National Bank Direct Brokerage, is a division of National Bank, which has $635 billion in assets
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