A new study finds 84% of self-directed Canadian investors now use financial creators, AI, or both to guide their investment choices
The majority of Canadian self-directed investors now blend financial creators and artificial intelligence tools into their investment process according to a new study from Global X Investments Canada Inc. and National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB).
The survey, conducted nationally by RKI among 834 qualified do-it-yourself (DIY) investors (including 402 residents of Quebec) found that 84% of respondents either watch financial creators, commonly known as finfluencers, or use AI as part of their investment journey.
More specifically, 77% of respondents watch financial creator content at least occasionally, while 56% have turned to AI for investment-related tasks. Notably, the trends were consistent across the country, including in Quebec.
The research also found a strong correlation between the two behaviours. Among finfluencer viewers, 68% also use AI compared with just 14% of those who do not follow creator content, suggesting that digitally engaged investors are building layered research habits rather than relying on a single source.
"The modern DIY investor isn't waiting for information to come to them. They are actively assembling it from multiple sources and using different tools for different parts of the process," said Stephanie Wolfe, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing at Global X. "Financial creators are making investment ideas and concepts more accessible, while AI is giving investors a new way to explore those ideas, ask questions and test their own thinking."
From content to action
Among finfluencer viewers, 83% reported taking at least one tangible action after engaging with creator content.
The most common outcomes included learning new financial terminology (26%), increasing savings (24%), starting to invest (18%) and changing an investment strategy (16%). A further 16% said watching creator content led them to speak with a financial advisor.
Confidence was another notable outcome. Investors with less than $100,000 in investable assets ranked increased confidence as the leading benefit of financial creator content.
Confidence also ranked first among women and among Gen Z and Gen X investors - groups that have historically reported lower levels of self-assurance when it comes to investing. As Wealth Professional has explored in coverage of finfluencers and the changing advice landscape, the mainstream reach of financial creators is now too significant for the advice industry to ignore.
"Creator content is not only driving the flow of investment dollars," Wolfe said. "For many investors, it is helping make investing feel more understandable and approachable. That can lead to better questions, greater confidence and, ultimately, a greater willingness to take control of their financial future."
A new information ecosystem
The study positions financial creators and AI not as competing forces, but as complementary tools within the same research process.
Creator content tends to offer accessible explanations, step-by-step guidance and a distinctly Canadian perspective. AI, meanwhile, is most often used to double-check the investor's own thinking, generate ideas, research markets and summarise financial information.
AI adoption is notably higher among younger investors. Gen Z respondents were approximately three times as likely as Baby Boomers to use AI as part of their investment process. However, adoption does not translate to blind trust: 95% of Gen Z respondents still identified at least one reason to question AI-generated financial advice - a finding that points to a degree of critical evaluation even among the most digitally active cohort.
Claude-Frédéric Robert, President of National Bank Direct Brokerage, framed the challenge in terms of information quality rather than access. "We're seeing a new generation of investors build knowledge in ways that would have been unimaginable a decade ago," he said. "The challenge is no longer access to information. It's understanding which sources to trust, how to validate ideas and how to turn information into informed investment decisions."
What this means for advisors
Among hybrid investors who manage some investments independently while also working with an advisor, 46% of all respondents said they operate in some form of hybrid model. Among finfluencer viewers with an advisor, 84% said creator content had changed that relationship, most commonly by helping them ask better questions or seek confirmation of ideas.
That dynamic cuts both ways. The study also found that 96% of hybrid investors said they would pause or reconsider if their advisor recommended against an investment idea they had discovered through a creator or AI - underlining the degree to which self-directed research now shapes client conversations.
The findings echo broader industry discussions about advisors building AI tools to serve the next generation of clients and the urgency of engaging with digitally active investors before their habits calcify.
Behavioural differences between finfluencer viewers and non-viewers were also stark. Viewers made more than three times as many portfolio adjustments annually (9.9 versus 2.3%) and were three times more likely to describe themselves as aggressive investors (14% versus 4%).
Women's engagement with creator content revealed a more nuanced picture. Women were more likely to describe themselves as risk-averse - 39% compared with 25% of men - and were less likely to consume financial content weekly.
However, increased confidence ranked as the top outcome women drew from that content, highlighting a potential role for financial creators in broadening the reach of investing to audiences that have traditionally been underserved. This aligns with ongoing discussions in Canada about closing the gender confidence gap in financial planning.
