Nextgen investing: 'Finfluencing' young women

Haley Sacks’ Instagram feed is heavy on celebrity gossip and fashion memes. But the influencer, who goes by MrsDowJones, wants her followers to eventually afford that lifestyle, not just aspire to it.

Scroll through her social media accounts, and you’ll come across posts on what investing has in common with Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s relationship, or why a Roth IRA is more dependable than a boyfriend.

Sacks, a 30-year-old Manhattan native, is part of a new crop of financial influencers catering to a growing class of young, retail investors. Unlike their more traditional counterparts, these "finfluencers" give their advice for free and don’t usually boast three-letter certifications before their names. But at a time when young people are flocking to commission-free trading apps, they have found ways to make money by translating financial jargon into engaging posts via social media.

"I’m the primary example of a woman who felt confused about money but intrigued by living a nice lifestyle," Sacks says. "When I would try to learn about finance, no one was making it salacious and fun like that. So it was hard to be motivated."

That inspired her to start the Instagram account @MrsDowJones in 2017. The account has 237,000 followers, about 70% of whom are Gen Z and millennial women.

"The more that we can help them and create resources and easy tools and ways for people to understand that this is completely doable, and the better we’re all living, then we’re all winning," she says. "We’re a happier, healthier society."