According to the latest ASIC report released at the start of August 2022 that researched over 1,000 retail investors in Australia, 44% of them said they owned cryptocurrencies, which makes them the second most common product type after Australian shares. Alarmed by the recent report, Mr. Longo told the Australian Financial Review on August 11: He also informed The Sydney Morning Herald on August 11, 2022:
Aussie investors use social media for financial info
Another cause of concern for Joe Longo was a revelation that 41% of those who were surveyed reported that one of their main sources of investing information were social media platforms such as Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok, but also “finfluencers” from YouTube. However, since the survey was conducted last year, before the ASIC’s crackdown on financial influencers, the researchers’ results aren’t an exact portrayal of things today. Apart from social media, some of the “commonly cited” sources of investment information include Google searches’ (34%), investors’ personal networks such as family and friends (24%), and coworkers (10%).
Crypto concerns call for stricter regulation
Concerned by the rising popularity of crypto assets in Australia and the lack of regulations of the ways they’re being bought and sold, Joe Longo said back in February: Finally, the ASIC chairman also assured investors that he’s currently working closely with the Australian government on creating new regulations that’ll solve the issue of unregulated investment scams disguised as advice, which are still one of the most popular sources of financial information today.
