The expertise of financial influencers and strategies of calibration towards monetisation

In this article, we examine the emerging phenomenon of financial influencers, or “finfluencers”, in the context of platformised personal finance and influencer monetisation strategies. As retail trading platforms have democratised access to financial markets, influencers on digital media platforms have carved out a niche as popular experts who provide financial advice and investment strategies. The article presents a typology of four prominent influencer strategies – influencer classic, academy operator, platformised trader, and veiled promoter – where each strategy identifies a distinct configuration of types of expertise calibrated towards monetisation of distinct audiences and requisite products and services. Building on analyses of empirical examples from Denmark, our study contributes to the theoretical understanding of expertise and addresses an empirical gap in financial influencer research. It also contributes to the general discussion around influencers as emerging sources of authority in society.