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The Markets
by Proactive
Proactive UK has moved.
Coverage of London’s small caps continues on proactiveinvestors.com
Go to Proactive UK
The Markets
by Proactive
Proactive UK has moved.
Small-cap coverage continues on .com
Go to Proactive UK
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The Markets
by Proactive
Proactive UK has moved.
Small-cap coverage continues on .com
Go to Proactive UK

Online business & e-commerce

Young investors head to social media for investment advice

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Berkshire Hathaway and BlackRock move aside, there's a new investment advisor on the block and young investors are taking advantage of it in droves.

Instagram

More than one-fifth of investors aged between 18 and 34 say they use the social media app to tap into investment advice, stock tips and market forecasts.

Financial websites are the most popular sources of information, with 34% of investors of any age using online sites, while friends and family proved the second-most used resource, a research survey by Opinium Survey found.

Reddit and Facebook also proved popular among young investors, the former having 14% of respondents visit the site for tips, a likely result of the GameStop saga, which saw groups of retail investors team together via the app to drive a short squeeze on the failing game store’s stock.

Emma Wall, head of investment analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “While engagement with investing should be applauded at any age, taking tips from unregulated or unverified sources, such as social media, should be done with caution. Always take time to do additional due diligence on any ideas.

“If you are at a pivotal life event – retirement, marriage, becoming a parent, and you are really short of investment ideas, consider getting professional advice before taking the plunge.”

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The Markets
by Proactive
Proactive UK has moved.
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