From Gossip Columns to Finfluencers: Who Should India Trust With Its Money?

 

BIZ MASALA  •  PUBLIC-INTEREST INVESTIGATION  •  10 OCTOBER 2026

From Gossip Columns to Finfluencers:
Who Should India Trust With Its Money?

A practical guide for Millennials and Gen Z: build wealth with knowledge, not tips—and understand risk before trading.

Original conceptual artwork for this investigation. It illustrates financial choices and risk; it is not a market forecast.

By Murthy ASR  |  Biz Masala

THE CENTRAL MESSAGE

Financial assets can help savings grow over time, but no asset guarantees multiplication. The first job is to protect financial stability; the next is to choose investments that match goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. Direct stock investing deserves education. Options trading demands even more caution.

 

1 | Young India needs a wealth plan—not a stock tip

Millennials and Gen Z are entering a world of easy digital investing, instant market commentary and financial influencers who can make complex products look simple. Access has improved. But access is not the same as understanding, and a confident prediction is not a financial plan.

Financial assets can help preserve purchasing power and build wealth over time, but outcomes depend on contributions, time, costs, taxes, diversification and market risk. Real estate and gold have their own costs and risks; fixed deposits have reinvestment and inflation risk; mutual funds vary by category; and direct equities can fall sharply.

Original Biz Masala learning-path graphic: a practical sequence before taking market risk.

THE ORDER MATTERS Build an emergency reserve, manage expensive debt, assess insurance needs and define goals before committing money to volatile assets. Money needed soon generally should not be exposed to large short-term market swings.

 

2 | Know the difference between saving, investing and trading

Choice	What it can do	What to understand before choosing
Bank fixed deposits	Offer defined interest for a stated tenure, subject to bank terms and applicable deposit insurance limits.	Inflation, premature-withdrawal rules, tax and reinvestment rates.
Mutual funds	Provide access to portfolios managed under a stated investment mandate.	Equity/debt mix, riskometer, expense ratio, exit load, tracking error where relevant and time horizon.
Gold	Can diversify some portfolios and may act as a store of value in certain periods.	Price volatility, spreads, storage or product structure, and no regular income for physical gold.
Real estate	Can provide housing utility, rental income or long-term exposure to property values.	Large ticket size, liquidity, maintenance, legal title, leverage and transaction costs.
Direct shares	Give ownership exposure to individual listed businesses.	Business quality, valuation, governance, diversification and the possibility of permanent capital loss.
Derivatives/options	Can hedge exposure or express a short-term market view.	Expiry, time decay, volatility, leverage, liquidity, margin and potentially rapid losses.

 

No single asset is right for everyone. A sensible allocation depends on age, income stability, liabilities, dependants, goals, liquidity needs and the ability to withstand losses. This article is education, not a personalised asset-allocation prescription.

3 | Direct stock investing: learn before you buy

A direct equity investor should be able to explain, in plain language, what the company sells, how it earns money, whether its cash flows and balance sheet support the business, what could go wrong and why the share price offers an acceptable risk-reward trade-off.

A beginner's checklist	Questions to ask
Business model	Who are the customers? What drives revenue and margins? Is demand durable?
Financial strength	Are profits supported by cash flow? What are debt, interest costs and working-capital needs?
Management and governance	Are disclosures clear? Are related-party transactions and promoter pledges relevant?
Valuation	What expectations are already reflected in the price? What if growth disappoints?
Risk and diversification	How much could be lost? Is one stock or sector dominating the portfolio?
Decision discipline	What evidence would invalidate the thesis? Am I buying from research—or fear of missing out?

 

Read company filings and exchange disclosures, compare independent sources, understand charges and taxes, and keep a written investment thesis. Do not mistake a popular name, a low share price or a dramatic chart for proof of value.

4 | The guru problem: credibility is more than confidence

SEBI's Investor Survey 2025 reported that 56% of surveyed investors used social-media financial influencers as a source of securities-market information, while 62% said influencer recommendations affected at least some investment decisions. The survey also found high perceived credibility among respondents. These are survey findings—not proof that influencer recommendations produce good returns.

A creator may be an educator, entertainer, registered research analyst, investment adviser, broker affiliate or paid promoter. Those roles are not interchangeable. Registration where legally required is important, but it does not guarantee accuracy or profits.

Check	Warning sign
Credentials	Claims of authority with no verifiable registration where the activity requires it.
Track record	Only winning screenshots; no full period, losses, costs or independently verifiable records.
Conflicts	Undisclosed sponsorships, affiliate payments, holdings or referral incentives.
Language	Guaranteed returns, sure-shot calls, urgency or pressure to borrow money.
Payments and access	Requests to transfer money to personal accounts, share OTPs or join secret tip groups.
Risk explanation	No discussion of downside, liquidity, suitability or the possibility of being wrong.

 

SEBI's investor-education website offers resources on due diligence, unauthorised advice, stock-market-guru scams and grievance channels. Investors should verify claims independently rather than outsourcing decisions to a personality.

5 | Options trading: our strongest warning to young investors

Options are not simply cheaper ways to buy shares. They are contracts whose value can change quickly with the underlying price, time remaining, volatility and other factors. A buyer can lose the entire premium paid. An uncovered option seller can face very large, potentially theoretically unlimited losses depending on the position. Margin and multi-leg strategies add complexity.

SEBI's FY2025 study reported nearly 91% of individual equity-derivatives traders incurred net losses. In FY2026, 87.7% still incurred net losses. Source: SEBI studies as reported by Reuters, 20 August 2026.

BIZ MASALA'S CLEAR ADVICE If you are new to markets, stay away from options trading. Do not use borrowed money, emergency savings or money needed for near-term goals. Do not treat expiry-day trading, Telegram calls or influencer screenshots as a shortcut to wealth.

 

The latest reported FY2026 data showed individual equity-derivatives traders' aggregate net losses of about ₹91,685 crore, down from about ₹1.12 lakh crore in FY2025. The proportion of loss-making traders improved but remained high. These figures describe individual equity-derivatives traders as defined in the study; they do not mean every options trade loses or prove that influencers caused the losses.

6 | If you still want to learn options, learn hedging first

Hedging means taking a position intended to reduce a specific risk in another position or asset. It is not a way to guarantee profit. A hedge has a cost, may be imperfect, and can limit gains as well as losses.

Concept	Simple illustration	What it does—and does not do
Protective put	An investor owns shares and buys a put option on the same stock or a suitable related exposure.	Can establish a floor-like protection over the option's life, subject to strike, premium, basis risk and contract terms. The premium is a cost.
Covered call	An investor owns shares and sells a call option against the holding.	The premium may offset some downside, but protection is limited to the premium and upside above the strike is surrendered.
Collar	An investor owns shares, buys a put and sells a call.	Can define a rough downside/upside range over the hedge period, but the protection and cap depend on strikes, premiums and fit.
Index hedge	An investor with a diversified portfolio uses an appropriate index derivative to reduce broad market exposure.	May reduce broad-market risk, but basis risk, sizing, expiry and mismatch mean the portfolio is not perfectly protected.

 

These are educational examples, not trade recommendations. A hedge must match the exposure, size, expiry and risk being managed. Before any options position, a learner should understand the payoff at expiry, maximum possible loss, margin requirements, liquidity, volatility, time decay and what happens if the market gaps.

THE HEDGING TEST Before placing a trade, explain: What risk am I reducing? What is the maximum loss? What does the hedge cost? What risk remains? What happens at expiry? If you cannot answer all five, do not place the trade.

 

Hedging can reduce risk; it does not make options safe for beginners. Paper-trade and study payoff diagrams first, and consider qualified, regulated guidance where appropriate. Never assume a multi-leg position is safe simply because it is called a hedge.

7 | A safer learning path for Millennials and Gen Z

Stage	What to learn	What to avoid
Start	Budgeting, emergency savings, debt and insurance basics.	Investing money needed for rent, fees or emergencies.
Build foundations	Compounding, inflation, diversification, asset classes, taxes and fees.	Believing any asset multiplies money without risk.
Learn equities	Company analysis, valuation, filings, portfolio sizing and behavioural discipline.	Hot tips, leverage and concentration in one stock.
Understand products	Mutual-fund documents, riskometer, liquidity and investment horizon.	Buying a product you cannot explain.
Only then study derivatives	Option payoff diagrams, hedging, Greeks, margin, expiry and worst-case outcomes.	Treating options as income, entertainment or a shortcut.

 

SEBI's Investor website (investor.sebi.gov.in) provides investor education, fraud-awareness resources and ways to check financial health. The site also lists investor helplines: 1800 266 7575 and 1800 22 7575. Verify current details on the official website before use.

The Biz Masala verdict

Young India does not need to choose between blind trust in market gurus and fear of investing. It needs financial education that respects ambition while explaining risk honestly.

Fixed deposits, mutual funds, real estate, gold and direct equities serve different purposes. The right choice is not the one trending on social media; it is the one that fits a person's goals, time horizon, liquidity needs and ability to bear loss.

For direct stock investing, learn how to analyse a business before buying a share. For options, our advice is stronger: beginners should stay away. Anyone who still wants to learn must understand hedging, payoff structures and maximum loss before considering a live trade.

THE MESSAGE TO YOUNG INDIA Do not follow a guru into a trade. Learn enough to challenge the guru—and enough to know when not to trade.

 

Disclaimer

This article is for general financial education and public awareness only. It is not investment advice, research advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security or derivative. It does not consider any reader's financial situation, objectives or risk tolerance. Markets involve risk, including loss of principal; derivatives and options can cause rapid and substantial losses. Examples are simplified for education and omit some costs, taxes, liquidity effects and market frictions. Readers should verify current rules and product documents, conduct their own due diligence, and consult an appropriately registered professional where needed. Past performance and survey statistics do not guarantee future outcomes. Biz Masala and the author accept no responsibility for decisions taken solely on the basis of this article.

Sources and verification notes

·       SEBI — Study: Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26), 20 August 2026; source for FY26 87.7% loss rate and aggregate loss data.
https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/home/HomeAction.do?doListing=yes&sid=4&ssid=81

·       Reuters — India equity derivatives traders fall, total losses decline in FY26, regulator says, 20 August 2026; reports SEBI study findings.
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-individual-equity-derivatives-traders-fall-about-20-fiscal-2026/

·       SEBI — Investor Survey 2025 main report, published 20 January 2026; source for investor information channels and finfluencer survey findings.
https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebi_data/commondocs/jan-2026/Investor%20Survey%202025%20Main%20Report.pdf

·       SEBI Investor — Securities Market Investment: Do’s and Don’ts; general due-diligence guidance.
https://investor.sebi.gov.in/securities-dos_and_donts.html

·       SEBI Investor — official investor education, financial health, fraud-awareness and stock-market-guru resources.
https://investor.sebi.gov.in/

·       SEBI — disclosure requirements for registered entities and agents posting securities-market content on social media, circular issued February 2026, effective 1 May 2026.
https://www.sebi.gov.in/web/?file=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sebi.gov.in%2Fsebi_data%2Fattachdocs%2Ffeb-2026%2F1772103201432.pdf

 

About this edition

Prepared as a public-interest financial literacy feature for Millennials and Gen Z. Statistics are dated and attributed. The chart compares figures reported for different financial years; changes in rates should not be interpreted as proof that trading has become safe.

 

Murthy ASR

Biz Masala

Financial literacy • Independent thinking • Informed decisions

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