The Garrulous Jay – GeeJay With A PJ

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: the writer of The Garrulous Jay is to retire. After a decade in the business, he has decided to hang up his Chartered Financial Planning boots and embark upon a new career as a ‘finfluencer’ (financial influencer)…called GeeJay.

After 20 minutes’ research on ChatGPT, followed by 15 minutes of careful consideration, the decision was an easy one.

His primary motivation is and always will be a profound commitment and love for his clients. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that, according to his research, a single sponsored post by a leading finfluencer can generate up to £25,000. This suggests that 40 GeeJay posts per annum could generate income of £1,000,000: not bad for three hours’ work a week.

But no, it’s the clients that come first and, freed from the regulatory and professional shackles of the Financial Conduct Authority, and the annual requirement to do 35 hours of Continuous Professional Development, he will be able to offer clients truly life-changing* products.

He is therefore delighted to be able to announce that he has already negotiated a sponsorship agreement with Selizharovo Capital Management. Through this arrangement he will begin by promoting their highly innovative product range including Crypto-backed Accumulation Plans, Flexible Arbitrage Return Tokens, Non-fungible Opportunities Baskets and Real Estate Income Plan Offers.

For those still concerned about regulatory oversight GeeJay can confirm he is close to securing authorization from the Financial Regulatory Authority of the Upper Dneiper.

To summarise, you will shortly be able to follow GeeJay on all leading socials where he will be promoting SCaM’s CrAPs, FARTs, NOBs, and REIPOffs; all authorised and regulated by the FRAUD.

With success guaranteed, it is only a matter of time before you will be seeing posts of GeeJay with his PJ!

Back in the real-world last week saw the FCA lead a week of action against illegal finfluencers. These individuals ply their trade in the unregulated hinterland of the investment industry.

While TikTok is widely cited as the top platform for financial advice among younger audiences, Instagram boasts over 100,000 business accounts dedicated to finance.

Other research estimates approximately 7.7 million people in the UK have taken financial advice from a social media influencer.

According to its 24th April press release following the international week of action, the FCA issued 34 warning alerts against unauthorised firms or individuals, made 120 account takedown requests to social media platforms hosting illegal finfluencer content, sent 4 targeted warning letters to individuals suspected of engaging in unauthorised financial promotions, and secured a guilty plea from Geordie Shore’s Aaron Chalmers for illegal promotions on social media… Howay!

One suspects, however, that despite this concerted international effort it only served to scratch the surface of the problem and its effects may be no more than temporary.

The rise of finfluencers represents a profound challenge, as well as a potential opportunity, for both the financial advisory industry and regulators. Failure to tackle illegal activity risks harm to both individuals and the industry’s reputation.

A week is not enough.

*Life-changing is a term that cuts both ways.