Regulations

Story: FCA Study Reveals 80% of Young UK Investors Trust AI Tools Over Traditional Media

By Maheen Hernandez

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The Trust Problem. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they trust AI tools more than traditional media — TV, radio,…

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What Young Investors Actually Get Right. It's not all bad news. Seventy-three percent of respondents know that AI can produce inaccurate…

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A Demographic Leaning Hard Into AI. Two-thirds of the surveyed investors said they expect to increase their use of AI tools over the…

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Eight in ten. That's how many young UK investors have turned to AI for investment advice, per a new Financial Conduct Authority study published July 24, 2026.

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The FCA ran the research through the Attest platform, using a quantitative usage and attitudes format to map out exactly how younger investors are leaning on AI right now.

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But here's where it gets murky. Nearly half of the people surveyed incorrectly believe that AI-generated investment information is regulated. It isn't.

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Thirty-eight percent of respondents think it's acceptable to base investment decisions solely on AI outputs.

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So there's a real gap between how these tools feel and what they actually are. They feel authoritative. They're not regulated.

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It's not all bad news. Seventy-three percent of respondents know that AI can produce inaccurate information. That's a solid majority who aren't completely buying the hype.

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Young investors are also using AI in pretty sensible ways on the surface. The study found people are leaning on these tools to research companies, untangle financial jargon, and…

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The problem is the 38% who've crossed the line into treating it as a final word.

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See also: CoinShares Proposes 131 Million Share Buyback, But Will Use Full Authority?

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Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said investors need to stay sharp when using AI for investment research.

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Castledine didn't mince it. The message from the FCA is basically: use these tools, but don't hand them the wheel.

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It's worth stepping back for a second. The broader shift here isn't surprising. Younger generations have grown up with technology that genuinely outperforms older alternatives in…

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