SEC fines Kim Kardashian $1.26 million over Instagram post touting crypto — and yet over one-third of people rate online-investing sources as ‘extremely important’

This case puts a hard glare on emerging challenges related to "finfluencers" and is a timely reminder that there is a lot of people who look to social media for their investing cues.

The influence of social media on investing decisions goes beyond the meme stock frenzy that began last year. One quarter of retail investors say the information they get from social media is important for where they put their money.

According to the World Economic Forum, that is.

34% of retail investors rated what they learned from online content as extremely important, even though financial advisers and wealth managers were the most important sources of information.

Start with the reality TV star.

34% of retail investors think what they learn from online content is extremely important.

The SEC found that she did not reveal a $250,000 payment from the issuers to publish the post.

Regulators alleged that she was still promoting the token even though she had the #ad at the bottom. Kim paid the fine for not admitting or denying the allegations.

Michael Rhodes, her lawyer, said in a statement that she reached an agreement to move on with her many different business interests. When she made the post, she had more than 200 million followers on her social media accounts.

Retail investors need to be careful when they hear of a money-making opportunity online. Without a bold-faced name attached to the promotion, that is true.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, said in a CNBC interview that others have come under scrutiny for promoting Cryptocurrencies. He said that people like Floyd Mayweather, DJ Khaled, and Steven Seagal are in those ranks.

It doesn't mean that investment products are right for everyone We encourage investors to think about their own financial goals when making an investment decision.

We encourage investors to think about their own financial goals when making an investment decision.

Data shows that a lot of people are looking to social media for investment ideas.

More than 9000 people were surveyed by the World Economic Forum to get insights into the minds of retail investors and non- investors. The United States, Europe, Brazil, South Africa, China and Japan were some of the countries that had participants.

Four virtual workshops, three steering committee sessions, and interviews with financial services firms were done by the researchers.

When it comes to making investment decisions, word of mouth and traditional media sources are more influential than social media. They said that younger investors prioritize social media a bit.

Younger investors are more interested in cryptocurrencies According to separate polling from Morning Consult, 26% of people in the U.S. said they ownedcryptocurrencies.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, social media's influence is more pronounced in emerging markets. More than half of investors in emerging markets think social media is important in making investment decisions, according to a report.

The influence of social media on investing decisions goes beyond the meme stock frenzy that began last year.

The rise ofinfluencers is a new challenge for regulators, according to Joe Rotunda, vice-chair of the enforcement section committee. State-level securities and financial regulators are included in the organization.

In August, the association released an advisory to the investing public, warning of the pitfalls of listening too closely to notable names with big social-media presences, and those who do not have to follow the same disclosure requirements as financial professionals.

Rotunda said that free-speech rights allow people to talk about topics they care about, including finances and financial products.

When someone is paid compensation to promote a particular product and they hold themselves out as being, perhaps, unbiased, or having some sort of inside knowledge or just lending their name to a particular product, a particular security, a particular investment, the line tends to be crossed. A lot of times that isn't disclosed when they receive compensation.

He said that the rise of social media exposed young investors to self-proclaimed experts without financial expertise.

Rotunda said 106 enforcement actions were brought by member agencies last year because of complaints from online and social media. He noted that it was up 22% on last year and a 74% increase from the previous year.

Rotunda said it was not a bad idea to get information from other sources. He said that people should always deal with a financial professional.