SEC Launches Financial Game-Show Campaign To Educate Investors

[TL; DR]

The Securities and Exchange Commission, through the office of the Investor Education and Advocacy, launched a Game-show campaign to educate investors.

The campaign is a video titled “investomedia.”

The game show-themed public service campaign was launched to help investors make informed investment decisions and avoid fraud.

The campaign seeks to enlighten investors on needing personal research and consult reputable sources instead of influencers before investing.

The campaign uses a game show concept to educate investors playfully and show them that investing is not a game.

The investomedia campaign features a 30-second TV spot, interactive quizzes, and 15-seconds informational videos.

The first 30-second video shows a TV host asking two contestants to pick a square containing different investment options.

The 15-second videos contain information about investing in crypto. Another part showed a celebrity advising investors to invest in crypto assets.

The last part of the 15-second video shows no guaranteed return on investment in cryptocurrency and that borrowing to invest is risky.

Lori Schock justified using a comic style for this year's public service campaign.

Keywords: SEC, campaign, video, investors, investment, crypto, game-show.

[Full Article]

Over the years, the crypto market has continued attracting different investors. Interestingly, some investors join the cryptocurrency ecosystem with little or no market knowledge.

On this note, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), through the office of the Investor Education and Advocacy, launched the Game-show campaign to educate investors.

In this article, we shall highlight the details of the campaign.

Let's begin!

SEC Launches “Game Show-Themed Public Service Campaign

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Image: Fortune

On the 1st of June, 2022, The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a game-show campaign. The show “investomedia” was compiled and released to help investors playfully make informed decisions.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy unveiled the game show-themed public service campaign. The investomedia campaign seeks “to help investors make informed investment decisions and avoid fraud.

According to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), “The campaign encourages investors to research investments and get information from trustworthy sources to understand the risks before investing.” The Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson said, “As technology evolves, we are seeing a growing number of investors enter our financial markets.”

In describing the game show-themed public service campaign, the SEC noted that "our investomania public service campaign uses a game show concept to educate investors in a playful way that investing is not a game and they should do their due diligence when making investment decisions."

This campaign became necessary and is coming at a time when there is an influx of investors into the crypto market. It is baffling to know that people invest vast amounts into the crypto market without adequate knowledge and concise market analysis. Due to the volatile market, such a user or trader will likely lose their investments.

The investomedia campaign features a 30-second TV spot, interactive quizzes, and a 15-second informational video. The video contains information on crypto assets, margin calls, and guaranteed returns.

In the 30-seconds TV spot, the game show's host asks two contestants to pick a square displayed on the video game board. The squares contain investment options such as internet rumors, celebrity endorsements, stock tips from your uncle, crypto to the moon, guaranteed returns, fear of missing out (FOMO), meme stocks, market timing, and tulip bulbs.

The 15-second informational video contains investing in crypto. In the video, a supposed celebrity encouraged investors to take their advice and invest in crypto assets. According to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), “ After the contestants make their choices, the video shows, in a fun and comedic way, the consequences of a good or bad choice.”

The literal meaning of this part of the video is to show the investors that celebrities do not know how the market operates, and these celebrities should tempt nobody. If you want to invest, conduct your independent research and bear the consequences of your investment.

Another part of the 15-second video reminds investors that there are no guaranteed returns on investment and that all crypto (financial) investments have risks. So no matter how good or high an investment opportunity may rise, it comes with its own risk.

The final part of the 15-second video campaign entails Margin. This part warns investors to desist from borrowing to invest as investments are risky.

The choice of a game show and a comic illustration of such important investment tips became questionable. While clarifying the use of such style, Lori Schock, the Director of SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, said, “ We continue to look for creative and memorable ways to reach and educate investors, and we hope this year’s public service campaign, with its lighthearted approach, will attract investors attention.”

Lori Schock further stated, "Investors are inundated with a lot of so-called ‘investment advice, and we encourage investors to outsmart the chatter by conducting their research and visiting investor.org (website) for information on how to avoid fraud and invest for their future.”

Conclusion

Image: BeInCrypto

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “sometimes investing may look and feel like a game.” This statement shows that some investors have considered investments a game with little or no consequences for their decisions.

Therefore, the investomania public campaign seeks to enlighten new and old investors to conduct thorough research and market analysis before making investment decisions.

The campaign is a game investors can engage in on the investor.gov/quiz page. According to SEC reports, “more than 40 million users have accessed the website since its launch in October 2009, and thousands of investors are testing their knowledge by taking the monthly quiz on the website.”

Author: Valentine. A, Gate.io Researcher

This article represents only the researcher's views and does not constitute investment suggestions.

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