The explosion of finance influencers in recent years has stabilized, but their reach has increased.
The so-called "finfluencers" totaled 515 in the first half of 2023, the same number recorded at the end of 2022, but the number of followers increased by 6% to 176.3 million.
This is according to a study by Anbima (Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Markets Entities) in partnership with Ibpad (Brazilian Institute of Research and Data Analysis).
The number of followers does not equate to individual people but rather the sum of followers across all profiles of each influencer. Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube were considered.
This is the fifth edition of the research. The current number of followers represents a 140% increase compared to the first edition, which covered the period from September 2020 to February 2021, during which there were 266 finfluencers and 74 million followers.
The growth is a result of a unique moment in the Brazilian economy.
Due to the pandemic, the Selic (basic interest rate) dropped from double digits to the historic low of 2% per year, leading investors to seek alternatives beyond fixed income. And influencers were ready to help.
With the increasing influence of these professionals, Anbima has established the first set of rules for the activity.
The main requirement is for the influencer to inform that the sponsored post is an advertisement and disclose the financial institution contracting them.