SEC to Focus on Empowering Main Street Investors for 2018 World Investor Week

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that empowering Main Street investors will be the SEC’s focus during World Investor Week, which takes place Oct. 1-7, 2018.  SEC staff will emphasize both the basics of investing and savings as well as important emerging issues like the rise of initial coin offerings and digital assets, distributed ledger technology, and other innovations.

World Investor Week is a global effort promoted by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), with regulators on six continents joining together for the second year to educate investors on how to be smart and avoid fraud.  The SEC, along with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is leading U.S. efforts.

As part of the week, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) issued a joint Investor Bulletin with the CFTC, FINRA, and the North American Securities Administrators Association, to promote the key messages.  Also, for the first time, OIEA created a guide for teachers that provides K-12 educators with information about the basics of saving and investing, planning for retirement, and ways to protect themselves from fraud.

“Virtually every investor I’ve spoken with wishes they had been educated earlier and better about investing and our markets,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. “World Investor Week provides us the opportunity to highlight the valuable tools and information made available by the SEC to help everyday Americans save, invest, and take better control of their financial future.”

During World Investor Week, SEC staff will stress the importance of investor education, particularly in light of the rapidly changing world of investing and technology. SEC staff will also participate in events around the country to promote investing basics, such as going to Investor.gov and doing a background check on an investment professional, setting investment goals, researching investment products, recognizing the power of compound interest, and learning how to avoid fraud. Check here to sign-up for events near you.

“I have four simple words for investors – before you invest, Investor.gov,” said Lori Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. “That’s the first step to being a smarter investor. We look forward to bringing Investor.gov and the rest of our informative tools to Americans across the country.”

SEC staff outreach events include: 

• A joint Twitter chat with the U.S. Army to provide valuable saving and investing tips to military services members.
• Participating in a national teachers conference providing guidance to K-12 educators.
• A Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) program for federal employees covering TSP distribution options, withdrawals and fees.
• Numerous saving and investing presentations and webinars for seniors, students, women’s organizations and military service members.

For a list of other SEC outreach activities or to learn more about this global effort to promote investor education and protection and how investors can get involved, visit Investor.gov.