Month: June 2025

Provided By Meghan Murray

In the age of social media, it’s easy to find advice on just about anything — including how to manage your money. Content creators known as “finfluencers” — short for financial influencers — use platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram to share their takes on investing, budgeting and building wealth. Many of them are charismatic and relatable, and they often speak from personal experience. But while their content may be engaging, taking financial advice from a finfluencer without digging deeper can come with significant risks.

While some finfluencers may have formal training or credentials, many do not. Instead, their influence stems from their popularity rather than professional experience. But popular advice may not necessarily be good advice. A 2025 study by the Swiss Finance Institute even found that unskilled finfluencers typically have larger followings than skilled ones.

Why be cautious?

For young or new investors, social media can make finance feel accessible. In fact, a 2022 FINRA study says that more than 60% of Americans younger than 35 get investing information from these platforms. But social media isn’t regulated the same way traditional financial advising is, so anyone, qualified or not, can offer financial tips.

Unlike traditional financial advisors, finfluencers don’t know your unique goals, financial situation or risk tolerance. And likely, they’re not licensed (you can check here: Check Out Your Investment Professional | Investor.gov). Even well-meaning guidance might lead you down a risky path if it’s not tailored to your needs. And unfortunately, some finfluencers have exploited the trust they build with followers to promote questionable investments or outright frauds.

by Kenneth J. Entenmann, CFA®

5/20/2025, 3:07:02 PM

For the bulk of this century, it has been said that America was exceptional. It had the world’s strongest military. It had the world’s largest and richest economy. It had the world’s reserve currency. It had the world’s largest, safest, and most liquid financial markets. Most of the world’s largest and most innovative companies were American. The United States was a juggernaut. American Exceptionalism!

Yet, somehow, in just a few months, there are rumblings of the end of American Exceptionalism. Prominent financiers speak of damage to the “American brand.” The “Magnificent Seven” tech sector received a wake-up call when the Chinese Deepseek AI model was announced, which showed that the path to AI dominance would be competitive. And finally, Moody’s became the last of the major bond rating agencies to downgrade the last U.S. Treasury bond rating from AAA to AA. 

Is this the beginning of the end of American exceptionalism? To paraphrase Mark Twain, the report of the demise of American exceptionalism is an exaggeration.

Apparently, several prominent financiers believe that the American brand has been damaged. Perhaps. They say our “Friends and Allies” can no longer trust the U.S. regarding military and trade. Certainly, the method of the Trump Administration’s demands for increased NATO military spending can be questioned. But the fact remains that many of our NATO “friends” are still significantly below the NATO minimum spending requirements, and even those who have committed to increased spending will not get there for several years. Given our fiscal challenges, the U.S. simply cannot afford to fund all of NATO. If calling for the end of our allies’ defense-free-riding ways is damaging to the U.S. brand, then so be it. Similarly, the rollout of the Trump trade program has been chaotic and has created great uncertainty. Our friends and allies are upset. That is understandable. But it is also very clear that these friends and allies are not free traders. They deploy a myriad of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade, such as a digital service tax on the U.S. tech sector, which are blatantly unfair. If calling this out is damaging our “brand,” then so be it. Regardless of the perception of the brand, the U.S. economy will remain the largest and richest consumer market in the world. Every country in the world still wants and needs to do business here. That is why there are so many ongoing trade negotiations. The hope is they will end with a freer and fairer trade environment with our Western allies.