Millions of Americans are trading professional financial advisors for social media

While there is significant constructive content to be found on these platforms, the report suggests, much of the online discourse about retirement is driven by fear. Specifically, some 42.3% of all cross-platform retirement discussion centers on financial insecurity and loss.  

“I wasn’t necessarily surprised to see just how much fear is a driver of engagement with retirement content on social media platforms,” said Tara Naughton, senior vice president of intelligence at Storyful. “I think a lot of people out there find the idea of seeking out professional advice to be intimidating, frankly, so they turn to venues where they are already more comfortable.”  

Also concerning, Naughton said, is that nearly a third of content engagement involves people seeking personalized investment or retirement planning advice — something that simply can’t be delivered effectively via social media posts. 

Ultimately, the report warns, financial institutions may believe that they still shape how people think about retirement, but in many cases they are wrong. Institutions who sit on the sidelines also risk having their own reputations tainted by some of the bad information floating around on social media.  

“The good news is that financial services organizations can correct the course with a well-informed and authentic brand strategy that meets people where they are at,” Naughton said. “The amount of data available today to help brands craft their approach gives me a lot of optimism about a better way forward.”  

What voices are resonating?  

In addition to assessing the type and tenor of retirement information shared on social media, the report also examines some of the individual voices that are resonating the most. Fortunately, the authors find, some of these top voices are providing solid — if imperfect and incomplete — information to the public.

The top retirement influencer, Tyler Gardner, is a creator known online as SocialCap who has more than 2.5 million followers across platforms and a Storyful Influence Score of 100. This is a proprietary metric that identifies the reach of voices in online conversations by analyzing network patterns and engagement attributes.  

Gardner produces beginner-friendly explainers of retirement planning concepts like the 4% withdrawal rule and when to take Social Security (he’s a big fan of early claiming). While his content is generally labeled as education and not actual advice, Gardner also explicitly recommends specific exchange-traded funds, brokerages and other products and services.  

“Gardner’s content shows how creator preference now directly shapes product and platform selection,” the report states. “These decisions were once guided by advisors. This isn't influence, it's authority transfer. ” 

Brad Klontz, a financial psychologist with over 800,000 followers, also boasts a broad reach. His content bridges self-help and financial planning, often addressing the role of fear and shame in navigating financial hardships and readying oneself for retirement.  

“Dr. Klontz’s sustained traction signals what institutions have failed to address,” Naughton said. “The fact is that retirement anxiety is emotional before it's financial, and people naturally seek reassurance and understanding. The message for institutions is to lead with understanding and not products.”  

Klontz started his TikTok channel to discourage Gen Zers from day trading, he told ThinkAdvisor in 2020. "I have more teenagers following me on TikTok than financial planners following me on LinkedIn," he said at the time.

Other top creators examined in the report include Andrew Giancola ("pretty much the Netflix of finance podcasts," according to his website), Taylor Sohns (a CFP who calls his channel "the CNBC of TikTok") and Steve Chen, a former public schoolteacher turned investing coach. 

All of these creators enjoy far more reach and influence online than any traditional financial services institution, the report says, and that seems likely to continue unless traditional financial institutions can make a major course correction.  

'Biases in action' 

Michael Finke, a professor and Frank M. Engle Chair of Economic Security at the American College of Financial Services, sees a lot of retirement-focused information — and even more misinformation — online in the course of his daily work. 

“I am a member of retirement groups on Facebook and Reddit, so I see a lot of the misinformation,” Finke said. “I never comment, though, which may contribute to the problem.”  

Finke isn’t surprised by the report’s finding that engagement is often driven by emotion, or that answers that drive engagement or make people feel particularly good or bad get more attention than answers that are factually accurate.  

“You really see biases in action online,” Finke said. “Some great examples are discussions about investing.” 

For example, Finke said, recency bias dominates digital discussions of stock returns. People will hear messages like: “Stocks have earned 20% over the last few years so you should put most of your money in stocks!” 

Conversely, he said, loss aversion and narrow framing dominate Social Security claiming discussions. People will hear messages like: “I might die at 70, so I’m going to claim early because I want to spend more when I’m younger. I’m not waiting!” 

“In an environment where engagement determines what posts get the most views, it’s often the most behaviorally engaging messages that people are exposed to,” Finke said. “Unlike traditional journalism with fact checkers, social media is the Wild West.” 

Finke’s friend and professional collaborator David Blanchett shared similar thoughts, voicing little surprise that people on social platforms are getting low-quality information from creator-led communities and that traditional news outlets are in the minority in terms of viewership. 

“I think there’s a few reasons for this,” Blanchett, who is the head of retirement research for Prudential Financial, said. “First, I’m not sure how focused traditional news outlets are on creating content on these platforms, especially content that would resonate with this audiences.” 

Second, he contended, traditional investment and financial planning content is typically pretty boring. 

“You can only do so many posts telling people to invest long-term, save money for retirement, buy life insurance, etc.,” Blanchett said. “Not much should really change much in someone’s strategy over time unless there is meaningful change in circumstances.” 

Finally, Blanchett guessed, a part of this boils down to monetization.  

“I think many people who create content have ulterior motives, whereby they want people to potentially buy or do something that probably would not be generally considered optimal,” he warned. “Alternatively, most if not all content on traditional news platforms tends to be pretty good advice. So, motivations for creating content are different.” 

As to the future of social media-based retirement advice, Blanchett said he actually holds out some room for optimism. 

“There are different possible outcomes here,” he said.  "One is that current creators will become more professional and better sources of advice or information. Another possibility, and these aren’t mutually exclusive, is that more traditional media outlets start creating content that resonates more on these platforms. I certainly hope both of these happen.” 

Rick Ferri, the author, chartered financial analyst, and CEO of Ferri Investment Solutions, agreed that scrutinizing the motivations of apparent “retirement experts” on social media is important.  

“There is a growing amount of misinformation and poor-quality advice on social media,” he said. “I see it two ways. First, it is created solely for the purpose of selling product, such as high-commission universal life insurance. Second, it's coming from individuals who are trying to increase their social influence yet have little meaningful education and understanding about investing and personal finance. … TikTok solutions are not the way to resolve questions about retirement planning and investing.”