INFLUENCED INVESTMENTS: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA FININFLUENCERS SHAPE THE FINANCIAL CHOICES OF RETAIL INVESTORS

Social media influencers has played a key role on how retail investors are making investment decisions, especially with the financial domain. The impact of financial influencers typically referred to as 'finfluencers' on retail investors investment behavior in North Kerala is studied in this study. The study investigates the impact of these social media figures on psychological factors, cognitive biases and decision making patterns affecting these social media posts to reshape financial risk tolerance, asset preferences and overall investor confidence. The research employs a descriptive research design using North Kerala survey data from 403 respondents to assess the degree of this influence, and to test hypotheses related to the cognitive biases and behavioral shifts. Building on the already scarce empirical work on the impact of financial influencers, this study offers important implications for both the retail investors as well as the regulatory bodies.