"Let's talk about money" – FMA and WU Wien host second Financial Literacy Breakfast Meeting

4. November 2025 |

Press Release

Young people are increasingly obtaining financial knowledge from finfluencers via Instagram, TikTok and similar platforms – a trend that presents both opportunities and risks. This was the focus of the second Financial Literacy Breakfast Meeting organised by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) and Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien). Experts, teachers and school pupils covered the topic of “Finfluencers: Financial knowledge and investing with emojis and hashtags – a smart or risky idea?“

Practical Impulses and Projects

After the opening remarks by Julia Rieß, Director of the Competence Center for Financial Education at the WU and FMA Executive Director Helmut Ettl, the FMA’s experts Fiona Springer and Patricia Floh-Weninger presented about the FMA’s “Reden wir über Geld” (Let’s talk about money) initiative. Teaching materials are based on the topics that the FMA has been using for consumer information and financial literacy purposes for over four years now – and more recently since this year via Instagram, videos and a podcast. The materials are being turned into teaching materials together with the WU to provide teenages with financial knowledge in a manner that is suitable for their age. Pupils at the BHAK Wien 10 (a Secondary College of Business Administration) and VBS Floridsdorf (a bilingual school) then presented their projects about finfluencers and reported about their experiences using the teaching materials.

Discussions with Finfluencers

The discussion with finfluencers Lisa Pulsinger und Philipp Genduth to round off the event focused on the pros and cons of having financial content on social media.
“An every increasing number of young people get their information through social media. If financial topics aren’t talked about at home or at school, then finfluencers take on that role,” explained Julia Rieß, who moderated the event.
Bettina Fuhrmann, Professor at the WU added: “This is why it is even more important that young people learn to question such content with a critical eye.”
FMA Executive Director Helmut Ettl highlighted that “Over 80 % of young investors do so purely digitally and without using advisory services – and use trading apps and neo-brokerage services. This is why the FMA is also increasing the amount of information it makes available, for example in partnership with the WU in schools as well as on our own social media channels.”
Finfluencer Lisa Pulsinger also highlighted the importance of such dialogue: “It is great to see that schools, supervisory authorities and universities are discussing with teenagers about how financial knowledge may be disseminated online.”

Objective is this cooperation

The Financial Literacy Breakfast Meeting is part of the ongoing cooperation between the FMA and Vienna University of Economics and Businesss (WU Wien). Its objective is to present current financial topics in the classroom in a manner that is both practical and suitable in terms of age, in a way that sustainably strengthens younger people’s financial knowledge.

The FMA’s series “Reden wir über Geld” (Let’s talk about money) can be found at http://redenwiruebergeld.fma.gv.at/en in English and German, and in German on Instagram at @redenwiruebergeld and as a Podcast.