SEC’s New Public Service Campaign Emphasizes Investor Protection

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) today unveiled its new public service campaign, which highlights investor protection and encourages investors to explore the free tools and resources on Investor.gov.

The campaign, “Is This Right?” takes a multi-generational knowledge-sharing approach to educating investors. It features two TV spots and resources pages in both English and Spanish focusing on fraud protection, including the importance of investors monitoring their investment accounts, conducting a background check on investment professionals, and avoiding unsolicited investment pitches that could be scams.

“Informed investors are better investors,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “With this public campaign, Americans can learn more about how to meet their financial goals and invest for a strong financial future. I encourage everyone to take advantage of our resources on Investor.gov.”

“This year’s public service campaign shows that although different generations may have various kinds of knowledge when it comes to investing and recognizing scams, they can each learn from one another,” said Lori Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. “Sharing knowledge and having a conversation with your family members can make talking about finances more comfortable and can also encourage younger members to become interested in saving and investing at an early age."

Nearly 70 million new users have accessed Investor.gov since it launched in October 2009, and thousands of investors test their investing knowledge by taking a new quiz published each month. This month’s quiz, available at Investor.gov/quiz, highlights messaging from the new campaign focused on investor protection.

TV Spots

Mother/Husband/Daughter/Granddaughter [English, Spanish] ‒ Highlights the importance of being suspicious of unsolicited investment pitches, making sure you’re dealing with a registered investment professional, and monitoring your investment accounts.

A mother, her daughter and teenage granddaughter sit at a kitchen island looking at their personal devices, with the mother’s husband nearby. The mother shows her daughter an email about an influencer pitching a “once in a lifetime” investment and asks, “Does this look right?” The daughter says it seems suspicious and that she should check Investor.gov to see if they are registered. As the daughter checks her retirement statement, she notices a “weird fee” and asks her mother, “Does this look right?” The mother is glad her daughter is monitoring her accounts and says she should call and check it out. The spot also gives the teenager an introduction into discussing these kinds of important investing topics.

Father/Son/Aunt [English, Spanish] ‒ Stresses the importance of conducting a background check on an investment professional and spotting and avoiding scams.

A son is on his cell phone holding an infant and his father is on a laptop sitting in a living room. The son sees a message on his phone from an “investment guy” who’s promising 15 percent return with zero risk. He asks his father, “Does this seem right?” The father tells him it sounds too good to be true, to ignore the message, and to conduct a background check on anyone offering zero risk. The father sees a random message from his investment firm asking him to wire money, and asks his son, “Does this seem right?” The son responds by saying they wouldn’t do that and tells his father it sounds like a scam. An aunt is sitting nearby witnessing the exchange.

Both TV spots end with a bit of humor and the message: “No matter your age, we can all learn something about investing. Explore our resources at Investor.gov/NeverStopLearning.”