What's New in Investor Education

April is Financial Literacy Month, making this a great time to think about actions you can take to boost financial capability. FINRA and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation offer many resources to support you and your loved ones along your financial journey.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans expecting a tax refund, take a minute before you rush and spend that found money. Here are six ways you can use your refund to help you improve your financial status in the long run.

Smishing is a tactic in which scammers send unsolicited messages to targets over short message service (SMS), or text messages. A newer development with this type of fraud involves scammers requesting that targets respond to messages to get around protections that automatically deactivate hyperlinks in messages received from unknown numbers.

Your brokerage account statement is a valuable source of information about your investment accounts and opportunity to spot mistakes or potential misconduct. If you see a transaction or entry you don’t understand or didn’t authorize, immediately call the brokerage firm or your financial professional to request an explanation.

Micro-investing involves regularly investing small amounts of money to build up a stake while participating in financial markets. If you can’t dedicate much money toward investments, it might take years to reach a mutual fund’s minimum investment. Micro-investing allows you to invest with less money upfront, often automatically.

Discussing money management and investing strategies might not seem romantic, but managing a relationship is hard enough without having to fight about money. If you’re thinking of marriage or a long-term partnership, it’s important to discuss financial goals, savings, investment strategies and risk tolerance levels.

Getting a pay raise can be exciting. While there’s nothing wrong with the occasional splurge (if you can afford it), consider dedicating part of your new pay hike to a long-term wealth-building strategy. Read on for how you might use the extra cash to maximize the impact of your raise.

Investors looking for different ways to diversify their portfolio by providing access and exposure to illiquid strategies or alternative assets may look to interval funds, but these come with unique risks and characteristics and have a fee structure that may be higher than those charged by other types of funds.

Relationship investment scams involving crypto assets, also sometimes referred to as "pig butchering" scams, cost consumers billions of dollars. Learn how these scams work and protective steps investors can take.

Natural disasters can bring out the worst in some people, some of whom seek to exploit the situation to commit financial fraud. Learn how to spot and protect yourself from potential disaster-related investment scams.

In most cases, you must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your retirement accounts each year once you reach age 73. IRS rules require that you take withdrawals from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and employer-sponsored retirement plans to avoid costly penalties. Be sure you understand the requirements about RMD.

Investment fraud involving the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise. Increasingly, fraudsters are using generative AI (GenAI) tools to gain access to financial accounts and create new accounts in the names of unsuspecting investors. Learn steps you can take to help protect yourself.

Have you thought about taking steps to improve your financial health? The new year is a great time to check on your investments, revisit your budget, and improve your overall financial wellness. Read on for six tips to boost your financial savvy for the year ahead.

Social isolation, whether voluntary or involuntary, has long been a leading factor contributing to the financial exploitation of older investors. FINRA, NASAA, the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, NFA and the CFTC’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach are continuing to raise awareness of the devastating impact social isolation can have on senior investors and offer tips that can help.

An investment's performance is more than just the amount a stock, bond or mutual fund has appreciated since you bought it. If you want to make informed investment decisions, you should learn how to calculate your return on investment, or ROI.

Older Americans are frequently targeted by financial exploitation efforts, making investor protection and education of particular importance to this population. FINRA offers several services, including a dedicated helpline, that can help senior investors with their concerns.

Fluctuation of market indexes and stock prices is normal, with gains and losses occurring daily. This movement is called volatility; the greater the price swings, the higher the level of volatility. However, there are guardrails in place that help protect securities markets against periods of extreme volatility.

Volatile markets can inspire feelings of fear and anxiety among investors. When the stock market gets rocky, focusing on your overall financial picture, combined with sound planning, can pay dividends. These five steps can help steady your pulse during market spikes and elevate your financial security.

Your brokerage firm issues a trade confirmation every time you buy or sell a security. When a single tap or keystroke can make the difference between 100 and 1,000 shares, it’s important to review this information carefully as soon as you receive a confirmation.

You might know if the stock market is going up or down, but do you know what sectors are driving returns? The use of sectors is one of the most common ways to characterize markets, and the most used system is the Global Industry Classification System (GICS).

Have you ever thought about how online stock trading works? Once you hit enter on an order to buy or sell a stock, what happens next? There might be more steps in the stock trade process than you realize.

Like any other investment, employee stock awards come with risks. What should you consider if your company grants you a stock award or you're considering a job that includes equity compensation?

When you’re young, it’s easy to feel like there’s no rush to save for retirement. But before you know it, you might find yourself in your 50s or 60s and nowhere near your retirement savings goal. If you’re getting closer to retirement, what can you do to boost your nest egg?

Different investment products and strategies involve different degrees of risk. So what level of risk is too much? This depends on your risk tolerance—the amount of investment risk you’re willing and able to accept—which is impacted by a variety of factors and is unique to you.

In conjunction with World Investor Week 2024, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA), FINRA and other industry regulators are issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors with information about the ways in which emerging technologies like AI and crypto assets, and digital platforms like social media and mobile trading apps, are increasingly influencing how people invest.