Financial Fridays

Oct. 1-7 is World Investor Week 2018 – a global campaign promoted by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to raise awareness of the importance of investor education and protection. As the U.S. national coordinator for World Investor Week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and supporters to promote World Investor Week and its goals in the United States.

WHAT’S NEW

Teachers, you work hard educating our future generations. World Investor Week is a great reminder to focus on your own financial future!

• As part of World Investor Week, the SEC published a new brochure just for teachers: “A Guide for Teachers: Saving and Investing for K-12 Educators.”
• Our new “Saving and Investing Resources for Teachers” page on Investor.gov features information, resources, and tools to help teachers become smarter investors and better plan for retirement.

WHAT WE OFFER

These World Investor Week messages can help students start to build a strong financial future:

• Understand the Power of Compound Interest: With compound interest, you earn interest on both the money you save and on the interest that money earns. Thanks to compound interest, even a small amount saved can add up to big money over time. That means the earlier you start, the more time you give your money to work for you! Use the Compound Interest Calculator at Investor.gov to find out how the money you save can grow over time.
• Plan for Future Needs and Goals: What are the things you want to save and invest for? A car? Educational opportunities? A start-up business? Make your own list, then use the Savings Goal Calculator at Investor.gov to calculate how much money you need to save each month in order to meet your goals.
• Avoid “Get-Rich-Quick” Schemes: It’s easy to be tempted by promises of get rich quick schemes that promise little or no risk. But if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! It’s also never a good idea to make an investment decision just because someone famous says a product or service is a good investment. Learn more red flags of fraud at Investor.gov, and check out our alert about celebrity endorsements.

Investor education and protection doesn’t stop after World Investor Week! These SEC resources can help you advance World Investor Week’s goals all year long:

• Free classroom sets of our “Saving and Investing for Students” brochure
• Investor.gov, the SEC’s website for individual investors
• Roadmap to Saving and Investing

CONTACT INFORMATION

Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
www.Investor.gov
www.sec.gov
Toll free number: 800-732-0330

Follow the SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy on Twitter @SEC_Investor_Ed.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SECInvestorEducation