What changed

4. Encourages the Member States to update the Council Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning3learning in order to designate financial literacy as an independent key competence;

13. Urges the Member States to participate in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) financial literacy tests for youth and to establish regular surveys for adults; reiterates that financial literacy is an outcomes-based concept, and that national strategies should have clear and measurable indicators of progress, drawing upon the OECD/INFE Toolkit for Measuring Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion4;Inclusion; notes, moreover, that the setting of targets and deliverables should encourage national ownership of strategies; advises the Commission and the Member States to incorporate a level of flexibility into financial literacy strategies so that they may be adapted in the light of the findings of any efficacy assessment;

63. Notes that, while financial advisers are subject to strict regulatory requirements, finfluencers may de facto act as online financial advisers, yet are not currently subject to any specific regulatory framework, thereby leaving the door open to misleading practices; notes, in this regard, the changes would be introduced by the proposed directive to amend Directives (EU) 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC, 2011/61/EU, 2014/65/EU and (EU) 2016/97 as regards EU retail investor protection rules (the Retail Investment Strategy Omnibus Directive), which seek to address the risks posed to retail investors by finfluencers by placing obligations on finfluencers and the financial services firms engaging their services; notes, however, that some finfluencers are neither engaged by authorised financial institutions, nor offer authorised financial products or advice, and therefore fall outside the remit of the competent authorities’ supervision;

74. Draws attention to the fact that if finfluencers share, on social media, any opinion in relation to the value or price of a financial instrument, or recommend an investment strategy, even for educational purposes, they may be posting an investment recommendation falling under the scope of the Market Abuse Regulation5;Regulation; notes that some public communications posted on social media can carry risks in relation to market abuse, i.e. market manipulation, insider dealing and unlawful disclosure of inside information6;information;

76. Notes the growing use of AI-generated financial content, and calls for standards on the disclosure of AI origin and on watermarking, in line with the Artificial Intelligence Act7Act and sectoral guidance on AI use in retail investment services;