Finfluencers and AI are reshaping how Canadian DIY investors make decisions
Confidence also ranked first among women and among Gen Z and Gen X investors – groups that have historically reported lower levels of self-assurance when it comes to investing. As Wealth Professional has explored in coverage of finfluencers and the changing advice landscape, the mainstream reach of financial creators is now too significant for the advice industry to ignore.
“Creator content is not only driving the flow of investment dollars,” Wolfe said. “For many investors, it is helping make investing feel more understandable and approachable. That can lead to better questions, greater confidence and, ultimately, a greater willingness to take control of their financial future.”
A new information ecosystem
The study positions financial creators and AI not as competing forces, but as complementary tools within the same research process.
Creator content tends to offer accessible explanations, step-by-step guidance and a distinctly Canadian perspective. AI, meanwhile, is most often used to double-check the investor’s own thinking, generate ideas, research markets and summarise financial information.
AI adoption is notably higher among younger investors. Gen Z respondents were approximately three times as likely as Baby Boomers to use AI as part of their investment process. However, adoption does not translate to blind trust: 95% of Gen Z respondents still identified at least one reason to question AI-generated financial advice – a finding that points to a degree of critical evaluation even among the most digitally active cohort.
