How to evaluate online financial advice

In this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, we are joined by Theresa Ebden, Vice President of the Investor Office at the Ontario Securities Commission, for a deep dive into how regulators are thinking about modern investor risks—from AI-powered scams to finfluencers and the gamification of investing apps. Theresa explains how the OSC works to protect investors through policy, education, behavioral research, and direct engagement with the public, and why investor education is one of the most powerful tools regulators have.

Key Points From This Episode:

(0:01:55) Overview of the OSC and why its investor research and education work matters.

(5:42) What the Ontario Securities Commission does and its mandate to protect investors and capital markets.

(6:25) Inside the OSC Investor Office: policy, education and outreach, and the investor contact centre.

(9:28) How the Investor Office identifies priority issues using inquiry data, behavioral insights, and global collaboration.

(12:11) The nature of investor inquiries: fraud, crypto confusion, complaints, and recovery room scams.

(14:01) How contact-centre data feeds into education, outreach, and policy responses.

(16:07) Overview of GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca and its role in investor education.

(20:43) Major retail investor risks today: AI-enhanced scams, finfluencers, dark patterns, and gamification.

(24:43) What to do if you're impersonated by AI in scam advertisements.

(29:28) What a "finfluencer" is and the different categories they fall into.

(31:01) Research findings on how strongly finfluencers influence investor decisions.

(32:55) Why non-investors are especially vulnerable to finfluencer advice and social-media scams.

(36:11) How investors can evaluate online financial advice and check credentials.

(38:02) Regulatory challenges in overseeing finfluencers and online financial content.

(41:04) How AI magnifies traditional scams and why AI-enhanced fraud is more effective.

(43:42) Mitigation strategies: education, just-in-time warnings, and system-level tools.

(47:25) Relationship investment scams and why they are especially damaging.

(52:53) Research on gamification in investing apps and its effects on investor behavior.

(55:25) The Get Smarter About Trading simulator and how it demonstrates gamification effects.

(57:19) How gamification can be used positively to improve diversification and outcomes.

(58:16) Theresa's perspective on success and her focus on improving the individual investor experience.

Links From Today's Episode: Meet with PWL Capital: https://calendly.com/d/3vm-t2j-h3p

Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/

Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/

Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix

Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/

Dan Bortolotti — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/

Dan Bortolotti on LinkedIn — https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dan-bortolotti-8a482310

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)