CFA charter holder Sanjay Kathuria has crossed the two-million-follower mark across his finance education platforms, formally entering the top tier of India's personal-finance creator economy, according to coverage published in January 2026.
In a report dated January 8, 2026,DNA India noted that Kathuria added the audience in roughly 12 months, building a community around options trading, retirement planning and the basics of compounding. The outlet described him as "one of the most followed influencers of finance in India."
His back-story has been a central part of the appeal. According to Republic World, Kathuria retired at 39 with a reported net worth of around Rs 10 crore after a 16-year corporate career in strategy, consulting and real estate finance. He then founded Profits First, the platform under which he now runs courses, webinars and his YouTube and Instagram content.
Kathuria's own LinkedIn page lists his qualifications as an engineer with a CFA charter completed in 2012 and an MBA in Finance, lending credibility that has helped him stand out in a category often dominated by hot-take traders. His profile emphasises a long-form education approach rather than tips-and-targets content.
His Instagram handle@financebysanjay has become a hub for short explainers on tax planning, options strategy and the psychology of money. Recent content has focused on what he calls financial trauma, mental health around investing and structured paths to financial independence, themes that he is reportedly developing into a documentary and a new series.
For UAE and Gulf-based Indian professionals, Kathuria's content has resonated because his frameworks are largely currency-agnostic and lean on global market movements that affect remittance flows, equity allocations and retirement timing decisions. His Profits First programme positions itself as long-form financial education rather than signals or stock calls.
The two-million-follower milestone arrives at a moment when India's regulator has been tightening oversight of finance influencers, making qualifications and disclosure a competitive differentiator. Kathuria's CFA credentials and his explicit focus on financial literacy rather than direct stock recommendations have helped him sit on the right side of that line as the category matures into 2026.
