SEC Unveils New Public Service Campaign Encouraging Older Investors to Never Stop Learning

Washington, D.C.–(Newsfile Corp. – June 12, 2023) – The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) today unveiled a public service campaign that encourages older investors to never stop learning when it comes to protecting their hard-earned money and investing for their future. The campaign features a new TV spot, “Never Stop Learning,” which is available in English and Spanish, and four informational videos about caregivers, trusted contacts, protecting investors’ retirement money, and the red flags of investment fraud.

The campaign also includes new resource pages for older investors in both English and Spanish that promote the free tools and resources on Investor.gov where investors can find information about investing in retirement, spotting fraud, doing background checks on investment professionals, and more.

“I encourage all investors, including older investors, to take advantage of our resources on Investor.gov,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “To be an informed investor is to be a more effective investor, whether you are growing a nest egg, in retirement, or preparing for the inevitable bumps along the way.”

“Older investors have years of life experience, and we want to encourage them to build on their experiences and knowledge to never stop learning about investing and fraud protection,” said Lori Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. “This year’s campaign, along with our new Never Stop Learning resource pages, provides vital information so that older investors have the tools and resources to safeguard their hard-earned money from fraud and abuse.”

More than 60 million 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 older investors.

Read more about the “Never Stop Learning” campaign below:

TV Spot

The “Never Stop Learning” TV spot features several scenes of older adults enjoying activities such as surfing, sightseeing, and playing with a grandchild. The message is to never stop having fun, never stop exploring, and, most importantly, to never stop learning, especially when it comes to investing and protecting their hard-earned money.

Informational Videos

Caregivers: Financial Warning Signs You Should Know – Educates caregivers about the warning signs of investment fraud to help protect those they care for by being on the lookout for sudden financial changes, missing cash, and unusual account withdrawals or wire transfers.

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Red Flags of Fraud – Encourages older investors to watch out for common scams, including romance scams, imposter scams, and crypto scams. The video also warns investors to beware of people pitching time-sensitive offers, high-pressure sales tactics, deals that seem too-good-to-be-true, and promises of high-guaranteed returns. It also stresses the importance of conducting their own independent research and to avoid feeling rushed into making an investment decision.

Protect Your Retirement Money – Provides tips on how older investors can better protect their retirement money by conducting a background check on their investment professional, resisting the temptation to invest for the fear of missing out, using strong passwords and minimizing personal information they make public, and checking privacy settings to protect their online and social media accounts.

Trusted Contact – Explains the importance of designating a trusted contact to serve as a backup contact for a person’s brokerage account in case the account holder cannot be reached, becomes sick, or suffers diminished capacity. It also highlights the advantages of having a trusted contact that can verify personal information, address suspicious account activity, confirm investors’ health status, and verify who else is authorized to help with their accounts.