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- Explicit advisor: the authorities are trying to take control of financial influencers
Explicit advisor: the authorities are trying to take control of financial influencers
In Russia, they want to take control of financial influencers — authors who regularly tell a mass audience about investments. The Central Bank intends to introduce a special status for them. After receiving it, such consultants will be included in the register and will be able to publish financial recommendations. However, control over them will also be tightened: it will be necessary to disclose the real name, experience and profitability, as well as connections with financial organizations. Market participants supported the initiative, according to the materials of the regulator, which were analyzed by "Izvestia". Previously, they had already tried to control bloggers, but the requirement was easily circumvented — it was enough to warn: "This is not an investment recommendation." When the new status will appear and how it will protect investors — in the "Izvestia" material.
What will change for financial bloggers
The market supported the Central Bank's initiative to introduce a new mechanism to regulate the work of financial influencers. More than 80% of the participants in the discussion supported the idea of creating a special registry for them, according to the report of the Bank of Russia.
Financial influencers are proposed to include those who regularly publish materials, influence the investment decisions of the audience, give specific recommendations and receive financial benefits from this activity.
However, the Central Bank wants to start with voluntary self-regulation, the creation of a white list and a code of ethics. In the future, a registry may appear, which will be maintained by the regulator itself, the SRO or a specialized association. In this case, having received a new status, the influencer will have to enter such a list. The activities of the participants will be monitored.
One of the main elements of the proposed system is the rejection of anonymity. The author will have to disclose his identity, investment experience, and other information about himself. In addition, he will have to inform about his connections with financial organizations and about receiving remuneration for promoting their products.
At the same time, it is proposed to establish requirements for the very content of publications. Influencers will have to identify risks, avoid misleading information and promises of guaranteed income. In particular, it makes sense to limit motivational formulations like "tomorrow will be too late," which push the audience to make emotional decisions, says financial advisor and founder Rodin.Capital Alexey Rodin.
For violations, bloggers are proposed to be fined and excluded from the white list, and for gross repeated offenses or gray schemes, the author may be deprived of the channel. However, the Central Bank's report does not say which social network and who will be involved in blocking.
The special status can generally increase the responsibility of influencers, since the audience will understand who makes the recommendation, whether the specialist has the necessary qualifications and whether he receives money for promoting a particular product or attracting customers, says Mikhail Gordienko, Doctor of Economics, Professor of the Department of Finance for Sustainable Development at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
At the same time, one confirmation of identity is not enough. The effect of the registry's introduction will depend on how serious the selection criteria will be and whether they will be comparable to the requirements for professional financial advisers, said Dmitry Lesnov, Deputy General Director for Brokerage at "Finam" Financial Group.
A professional investment advisor is an official participant in the financial market who provides individual investment recommendations for the purchase or sale of securities. Such advisers are required to be on the register of the Central Bank and to be members of the SRO (for example, NAUFOR). They are also responsible to the client for the quality and compliance of the recommendations with the profile.
At the same time, the financial community supports a more lenient regulatory model. The National Financial Association, which acted as an intermediary between the Central Bank and bloggers, believes that excessive demands can lead to a reduction in quality content and an increase in the number of anonymous channels, said NFA President Vasily Zablotsky. According to him, harsh fines were not discussed at this stage, as they could lead to negative consequences.
The NFA believes that inclusion in the register of the Central Bank should be a way for influencers to expand their capabilities rather than a new headache. For example, it can be considered as a way to establish cooperation with financial companies, Vasily Zablotsky noted.
For the professional market, the approach under discussion does not look radical. "For example", "Digital Broker" now rarely cooperates with influencers and chooses financial specialists with long-term work experience, good reputation and high financial literacy for such projects, the broker's press service told Izvestia. At the same time, cooperation with bloggers remains primarily an image tool, rather than a way of direct sales.
Who will benefit from the new rules
The registry should be considered as a transparency tool, not as a quality mark. Investor protection will appear only upon verification of the author's identity, experience, results, connections with financial institutions and commercial interest, says Denis Astafyev, fund manager and founder of SharesPro.
At the same time, the very fact of having the name of an influencer in the registry should not be perceived by people as permission to unconditionally follow his recommendations. Even a qualified specialist can make mistakes, so an investor will still have to independently assess the risks, says Ekaterina Medyakova, an expert at the Federal Methodological Center for Improving Financial Literacy of the RANEPA IGSU population.
A conscientious author should explain on what data his conclusion is based, under what conditions the forecast may not work, and what kind of loss the investor is capable of incurring. Disclosure of advertising and personal interest, recognition of mistakes and preservation of unsuccessful forecasts in the history of publications are also important, Mikhail Gordienko believes.
In his opinion, the promises of high returns without risk, pressure on the audience with calls to buy immediately, links to guaranteed insider information and demonstration of only successful transactions should be alerted. At the same time, the paid subscription itself or the affiliate program does not indicate fraud if the financial interest of the author is disclosed.
A separate problem remains the differentiation of analytics, financial education, advertising and personal recommendations. Excessive demands can lead to the withdrawal of small independent channels from the market and strengthen the position of bloggers who are funded by large organizations, Mikhail Gordienko believes.
"Alfa-Capital" supports the increase of transparency and the formation of civilized rules for financial influencers. According to Nikolai Shvaykovsky, head of government Relations, clear disclosure requirements will help protect investors, but regulation should not create excessive barriers for independent authors. It is important to maintain a balance between controlling unfair practices and developing financial literacy.
Will the new rules be able to protect investors
The registry is more likely to divide bloggers into registered and others, and investors will still have to independently evaluate the quality of recommendations, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global. Moreover, the mere presence of a registry can create a false sense of security. After all, the reader will get the impression that the inclusion of a blogger in the white list means that the state approves his investment recommendations. Therefore, it will be necessary to make it clear that the status does not guarantee profits and does not provide compensation for market losses, Mikhail Gordienko emphasized.
Currently, experts single out the promotion of pre-purchased low-liquid assets (the so-called pump&dump), hidden advertising, selective demonstration of successful forecasts and the sale of "secret signals" among the most common unscrupulous practices. In the first case, the author first acquires an asset, then strongly recommends it to the audience, and after the price increases, sells his position. At the same time, subscribers assume the risk of a subsequent drop in quotations.
In addition to pump &dump, the most dangerous schemes also include the rug pull, which is common in the cryptocurrency sector: the creators of the project attract money into it, and then withdraw funds, leaving investors with depreciated assets. Bloggers can disguise themselves as investment recommendations and pyramid schemes. It will be possible to reduce the scale of such practices only if there is real responsibility for violations, including serious fines, Dmitry Lesnov believes.
Authors can change platforms, use front persons, or transfer the audience to closed groups. Therefore, not only a registry and formal requirements will be required, but also active monitoring of specific violations, Mikhail Gordienko believes.
In his opinion, uniform rules for the disclosure of investment returns may become an additional element of the system. If a blogger shows the results of his portfolio, it is necessary to take into account the calculation period, commissions and the maximum drop in asset value. This will make it possible to distinguish a stable strategy from the demonstration of a single successful transaction.
The regulator suggests first testing a voluntary model of self-regulation, and then assessing the need for stricter requirements.
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