M1 Finance received an $850,000 fine from FINRA.
FINRA stated that around 1,700 influencers posted content, some of which was unfair and contained exaggerated, unwarranted, promissory, or misleading claims.
The offending posts occurred because M1 Finance did not review or approve the influencers’ content before they posted it.
Investing and banking tools fintech M1 Finance has been hit with a fee this week. FINRA, a U.S. regulatory body overseeing securities law, fined M1 $850,000.
FINRA said it imposed the fine because social media influencers acting on M1’s behalf posted content that FINRA deemed as unfair and containing exaggerated, unwarranted, promissory, or misleading claims. Some of the posts violated FINRA Rules 2210 (Communications with the Public) and 2010 (Standards of Commercial Honor and Principles of Trade). For example, an influencer advertising M1 Finance’s margin lending program said that customers could “pay [margin loans] back at any given time . . . there is no set time period,” when, in fact, M1 can increase the maintenance margin requirement on customer accounts at any time, force a sale of securities in their accounts, and choose which securities to sell, if a margin call occurs.
Between January 2020 and April 2023, around 1,700 influencers posted content that included a unique link to M1’s website where new customers could open and fund an M1 brokerage account. The company paid influencers a flat fee for every new account that was opened and funded. In the end, the influencer content resulted in more than 39,400 new accounts.
“As investors increasingly use social media to inform their financial decisions, FINRA’s rules on communicating with the public are especially critical,” said FINRA EVP and Head of Enforcement Bill St. Louis. “FINRA will continue to consider whether firms are using practices and maintaining supervisory systems that are reasonably designed to address the risks related to social media influencer programs.”
While hindsight is 20/20, it is clear that increased supervision over the influencer posts and a system of procedures for control would have prevented the fine. While M1 Finance provided influencers with a guide that described the company’s services and features, the company did not review or approve the content within the influencers’ posts. This lack of oversight violated more FINRA Rules, including 2210, 2010, and 3110 (Supervision) and 4511 (General Requirements-Books and Records). It also violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Exchange Act Rules.
M1 has consented to FINRA’s findings and has agreed to certify that it has fixed the issues. Ultimately, the $850,000 fine only amounts to just over $20 per new account M1 received as a result of the influencer posts.
Using social media influencers can be a powerful marketing tool, but it comes with risks, as demonstrated by FINRA’s recent fine against M1 Finance. Financial services firms must use caution when using influencers to promote their products, and employ supervisory efforts to ensure that all content is compliant with regulatory standards. This also serves as a reminder that whenever firms leverage third-party services, such as banking-as-a-service providers, there are additional risk factors that firms must carefully manage. When selecting a third party provider, firms should thoroughly evaluate their partners and implement oversight and compliance processes to mitigate potential risks.
Photo by Ivan Samkov
