By Shaw Pritchett, President and Financial Advisor, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management
These days, it seems like everyone has financial advice to share online — from TikTok influencers hyping the next “can’t miss” investment, to Reddit threads on meme stocks, to AI chatbots offering quick tips. But while this content is easy to find, following it can come with a real cost.
A new survey from the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Board highlights just how costly online financial advice can be.
The Problem with Online Advice
According to the study, 57% of Americans say they’ve made a regrettable money decision after following financial advice they found online. That’s more than half the country.
Why is this happening? Online platforms reward entertainment and attention-grabbing headlines. “Get rich quick” stories spread faster than steady, disciplined wealth-building strategies. The result: sensational advice gets amplified, while sound strategies often go ignored.
The Real Costs
The CFP® Board surveyed over 1,000 adults and found that:
- 39% lost at least $250
- 18% lost more than $1,000
- 33% delayed important financial decisions
- 29% acted without consulting a professional
- 21% reported more financial stress
These numbers aren’t just statistics. They represent real families who postponed buying homes, set back retirement savings, or paid unnecessary fees after acting on advice that looked trustworthy online.
Who’s Most at Risk?
Younger adults were almost twice as likely to trust online sources as older generations. Nearly two-thirds of adults ages 25–45 later regretted following that advice. Even more concerning: 44% of younger adults said they trust AI-generated advice just as much as a financial advisor.
Why Professional Advice Still Matters
There’s good news in the survey, too. Despite the explosion of digital content, professional advisors remain a trusted source of guidance. Three out of four people said they feel confident following their advisor’s recommendations without second-guessing.
That confidence comes from knowing that professional advisors — unlike anonymous influencers — are trained, regulated, and legally bound to put clients’ interests first.
The Value of Advice
Even Vanguard, one of the most respected names in investing, has tried to quantify the benefits of using a qualified advisor. They found that stock picking, asset allocation and trading decisions may only add as much as 0.44% per year while behavioral coaching and spending strategy can add as much as 4.2% annually. This provides further evidence that chasing the next hot investment option is not the key to long term retirement success.
We often say that a good advisor is someone who stands between you and a costly mistake. Look for someone who puts your best interests first, not someone looking for “clicks”. While professional advice may carry a fee, the real value is in having someone by your side to help you avoid the wrong turns and stay focused on long-term success.
