Fin-Fluencers- Questionable Legitimacy and Legislative Outlook

In an era dominated by pervasive social media, personal outreach has crossed unprecedented levels, extending its connection to the farthest reaches of India. This upsurge has led to a noteworthy challenge within the financial sector — the emergence of financial influencers, commonly known as Fin-Fluencers. Operating on platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, these influencers go beyond creating content for broad consumption; they wield significant influence over consumer behaviour. Consequently, the Fin-Fluencer’s paradigm may unfavourably influence the investors’ decisions and may entail an enhanced financial risk for retail investors in the country. This paper attempts to analyse the impact of Fin-Fluencers in India and identify possible mediums for regulating their influence on the securities market. The paper is divided into various segments in order to understand the need for Fin-Fluencer regulation, study attempts made by regulatory bodies to include influencers within the legislative framework, compare regulatory provisions from different jurisdictions and present a few suggestive features for the Indian framework.