The corporate regulator has put social media influencers on notice, warning they could face imprisonment and $1 million fines if they do not obtain a financial services licence or quit promoting stocks and investment funds online.

Greg Yanco, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s executive director of market supervision, said the regulator was closely monitoring a handful of popular personal finance influencers – known as finfluencers – and expected them to make swift changes to their content.