Australian regulators are warning about the proliferation of unregulated advertisement of financial products and platforms. (Source: Getty/TikTok)
There’s a famous quote attributed to J.P Morgan, the early American financier and banker whose name now adorns the largest investment bank in the world.
“Nothing so undermines your financial judgement as the sight of your neighbour getting rich,” he said.
Social media these days is full of people touting the next big undervalued stock or crypto coin and showing off their gains from investing in speculative markets. And according to new research, it is actually younger, more internet native generations who are more likely to follow dubious investment advice and fall for investment scams online.
It comes as regulators in Australia push for better financial literacy to counter the AI boom and consider cracking down on advertisements of financial products.
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Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Joe Longo, has warned about the proliferation of promotions for financial products, particularly through social media, suggesting they posed a danger to Australian consumers.
Highlighting previous rules to ban cigarette advertisements, Longo flagged a potential crackdown on such advertisements as the watchdog looks to close gaps in the regulatory regime governing the financial services sector.
“Particularly through social media, there’s a whole range of ways in which Australians are exposed to pretty aggressive financial product promotion,” he said.
“So I think we need to be looking for ways of helping Australians navigate that. And secondly, possibly even looking at restrictions or prohibitions of some kinds of advertising, to nip it in the bud.”
The ASIC chair, whose stint as head of the regulator ends on May 31, said the government was intent on pushing more funding towards literacy about both financial products and technology as it prepares for the expected rise of AI agents which are capable of independently performing tasks with minimal human input.
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“The whole question of literacy around technology is related to financial literacy, because we’re seeing a convergence.
“So many financial products are promoted through a range of these technologies or platforms. So I do worry that, as a community, we’re not investing enough in our level of understanding around these issues.”
ASIC chair Joe Longo wants the financial watchdog better resourced to tackle growing online threats. (Source AAP)
AI has helped fuel an explosion in advertisements spruiking questionable investments in financial products.
ASIC is already discussing law reform around limiting cold calling and lead generation, which drove customers to invest in the collapsed Shield and First Guardian master funds.
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“But generally, we’re talking about advertising that isn’t regulated,” Mr Longo said
“So what we’re calling for is greater consideration of whether that kind of advertising should be restricted in some way, or carrying with it warnings that before you go ahead, you should get proper financial advice from a licensed financial advisor.
“We’ve just seen too many examples at the moment of people losing their money in circumstances where they’re investing their life savings, for example, chasing a higher return.”
January is peak season for scammers pushing investment advice as consumers look to rebuild their bank balance after the holidays.
New survey research from BrokerChooser, an online platform that compares stockbrokers, digital banks, and trading platforms, found that it was younger people who were most likely to overestimate their confidence in spotting an investment scam, with many still willing to engage with suspicious platforms.
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Gen Z (20.21%) and millennials (26.53%) are over six times more likely than Boomers (3%) to say they’d test a suspicious trading platform with a small amount.
Almost one in five Gen Z respondents said they’d be convinced to invest in a new platform based on screenshots of profitable trades.
Meanwhile more than a third of 25 to 34-year-olds and nearly a quarter of 35 to 44-year-olds admitted they would trust testimonials from “other successful traders” – a fraudulent tactic commonly used in scams through fake or paid endorsements.
“A quarter of young investors admit to making impulsive decisions in order to keep up with current investment trends, often leaving little time to properly evaluate the risks. Amid a sharp rise in investment scams, this behaviour is particularly dangerous – especially as fraudsters grow increasingly sophisticated in how they present themselves,” Krisztián Gátonyi, from BrokerChooser, said.
“With the rise of AI, we’re now seeing realistic fake websites, chatbot ‘advisors’, and even deep fake videos of celebrities endorsing bogus schemes. It’s becoming harder for even seasoned investors to separate genuine opportunities from high-tech fraud.
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“While younger adults tend to feel more sure of themselves, some are still falling for red flags like promises of unrealistic returns, unregulated platforms claiming to be ‘pending approval’, or pressure to act fast.”
The company said the survey was conducted with a nationally representative panel of 2,000 UK adults, and revealed the surprising groups being targeted by such advertising.
with AAP
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Cornell University administrator Warren Petrofsky will serve as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ new dean of administration and finance, charged with spearheading efforts to shore up the school’s finances as it faces a hefty budget deficit.
Petrofsky’s appointment, announced in a Friday email from FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra to FAS affiliates, will begin April 20 — nearly a year after former FAS dean of administration and finance Scott A. Jordan stepped down. Petrofsky will replace interim dean Mary Ann Bradley, who helped shape the early stages of FAS cost-cutting initiatives.
Petrofsky currently serves as associate dean of administration at Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
As dean, he oversaw a budget cut of nearly $11 million to the institution’s College of Arts and Sciences after the federal government slashed at least $250 million in stop-work orders and frozen grants, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.
He also serves on a work group established in November 2025 to streamline the school’s administrative systems.
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Earlier, at the University of Pennsylvania, Petrofsky managed capital initiatives and organizational redesigns in a number of administrative roles.
Petrofsky is poised to lead similar efforts at the FAS, which relaunched its Resources Committee in spring 2025 and created a committee to consolidate staff positions amid massive federal funding cuts.
As part of its planning process, the committee has quietly brought on external help. Over several months, consultants from McKinsey & Company have been interviewing dozens of administrators and staff across the FAS.
Petrofsky will also likely have a hand in other cost-cutting measures across the FAS, which is facing a $365 million budget deficit. The school has already announced it will keep spending flat for the 2026 fiscal year, and it has dramatically reduced Ph.D. admissions.
In her email, Hoekstra praised Petrofsky’s performance across his career.
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“Warren has emphasized transparency, clarity in communication, and investment in staff development,” she wrote. “He approaches change with steadiness and purpose, and with deep respect for the mission that unites our faculty, researchers, staff, and students. I am confident that he will be a strong partner to me and to our community.”
—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at amannsm.38. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.
My spreadsheet reviewed a WalletHub ranking of financial distress for the residents of 100 U.S. cities, including 17 in California. The analysis compared local credit scores, late bill payments, bankruptcy filings and online searches for debt or loans to quantify where individuals had the largest money challenges.
When California cities were divided into three geographic regions – Southern California, the Bay Area, and anything inland – the most challenges were often found far from the coast.
The average national ranking of the six inland cities was 39th worst for distress, the most troubled grade among the state’s slices.
Bakersfield received the inland region’s worst score, ranking No. 24 highest nationally for financial distress. That was followed by Sacramento (30th), San Bernardino (39th), Stockton (43rd), Fresno (45th), and Riverside (52nd).
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Southern California’s seven cities overall fared better, with an average national ranking of 56th largest financial problems.
However, Los Angeles had the state’s ugliest grade, ranking fifth-worst nationally for monetary distress. Then came San Diego at 22nd-worst, then Long Beach (48th), Irvine (70th), Anaheim (71st), Santa Ana (85th), and Chula Vista (89th).
Monetary challenges were limited in the Bay Area. Its four cities average rank was 69th worst nationally.
San Jose had the region’s most distressed finances, with a No. 50 worst ranking. That was followed by Oakland (69th), San Francisco (72nd), and Fremont (83rd).
The results remind us that inland California’s affordability – it’s home to the state’s cheapest housing, for example – doesn’t fully compensate for wages that typically decline the farther one works from the Pacific Ocean.
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A peek inside the scorecard’s grades shows where trouble exists within California.
Credit scores were the lowest inland, with little difference elsewhere. Late payments were also more common inland. Tardy bills were most difficult to find in Northern California.
Bankruptcy problems also were bubbling inland, but grew the slowest in Southern California. And worrisome online searches were more frequent inland, while varying only slightly closer to the Pacific.
Note: Across the state’s 17 cities in the study, the No. 53 average rank is a middle-of-the-pack grade on the 100-city national scale for monetary woes.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
The up-and-coming fintech scored a pair of fourth-quarter beats.
Diversified fintech Chime Financial(CHYM +12.88%) was playing a satisfying tune to investors on Thursday. The company’s stock flew almost 14% higher that trading session, thanks mostly to a fourth quarter that featured notably higher-than-expected revenue guidance.
Sweet music
Chime published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Wednesday. For the former period, the company’s revenue was $596 million, bettering the same quarter of 2024 by 25%. The company’s strongest revenue stream, payments, rose 17% to $396 million. Its take from platform-related activity rose more precipitously, advancing 47% to $200 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meanwhile, Chime’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than doubled. It was $45 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a fourth-quarter 2024 deficit of $19.6 million.
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On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling revenue below $578 million and a deeper bottom-line loss of $0.20 per share.
In its earnings release, Chime pointed to the take-up of its Chime Card as a particular catalyst for growth. Regarding the product, the company said, “Among new member cohorts, over half are adopting Chime Card, and those members are putting over 70% of their Chime spend on the product, which earns materially higher take rates compared to debit.”
Today’s Change
(12.88%) $2.72
Current Price
$23.83
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Key Data Points
Market Cap
$7.9B
Day’s Range
$22.30 – $24.63
52wk Range
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$16.17 – $44.94
Volume
562K
Avg Vol
3.3M
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Gross Margin
86.34%
Double-digit growth expected
Chime management proffered revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2026. The company expects to post a top line of $627 million to $637 million, which would represent at least 21% growth over the 2024 result. Adjusted EBITDA should be $380 million to $400 million. No net income forecasts were provided in the earnings release.
It isn’t easy to find a niche in the financial industry, which is crowded with companies offering every imaginable type of service to clients. Yet Chime seems to be achieving that, as the Chime Card is clearly a hit among the company’s target demographic of clientele underserved by mainstream banks. This growth stock is definitely worth considering as a buy.
