ofAlmost one in ten (9%) of investors said that the source of information they have increased the most to help manage their investments is social media, with 7% now regarding it as their most important source of information.

Social media is having an increasing influence on UK investors, according to behavioural finance firm Oxford Risk.

Investors surveyed by the firm used Facebook (7%), Twitter (6%) and Linkedin (5%) as a source of information for their investment decisions.

For younger investors, social media held more sway over their decisions. One in five (20%) of investors aged 18 to 34 said social media channels were the most important sources of information for managing their investments. This compared to 4% of investors aged 35 to 54, and 4% of investors aged 55 and over who saw social media as their main information source.

Greg B Davies PhD, head of behavioural finance at Oxford Risk, said: “The quickfire comments seen on social media are far too often based on amateurs’ knee-jerk responses to market fluctuations, which leads to all kinds of bad decisions and losses. Investors need to base their decisions on long term views with a realistic view of their goals and attitudes to risk.”

In a recent column for Financial Planning Today, Martin Bamford, Certified Financial Planner at Informed Choice, wrote about the growth of trading tippers on social network TikTok and how Financial Planners need to get on social media to create their own content.