FINRA Campaign Urges New Investors to Take Key Steps Before Trading

‘Get Your Head in the Trade’ by Setting Goals, Knowing Your Risk Tolerance, and Understanding How Investments Can Make or Lose Money

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FINRA has launched an online advertising campaign, Get Your Head in the Trade, encouraging new investors to understand investment risks and rewards as well as their own financial goals and risk tolerance before making an investment decision.

“Millions of investors enter the market each year, about half of them are self-directed, and many are using social media as a primary source of information. FINRA is expanding our outreach to meet investors where they are and provide resources to help them make informed investment decisions,” said Marcia Asquith, Executive Vice President, Board and External Relations at FINRA.

The campaign will run for three months on various platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and Yahoo! Finance. The ads link to a new web page, FINRA.org/tradesmart, designed to equip new investors with knowledge, skills and tools.

There are two video ads in the campaign:

• "Meghan Gets a Stock Alert”
• “Meghan Checks an AI Pick”

According to data from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study, investors who are new, younger or use social media for investing information are more likely than more experienced investors to engage in riskier behaviors. Specifically:

• Over half of new investors invest in crypto assets, nearly one-third trade options, and about one-in-five purchase securities on margin.
• Holding microcap or penny stocks in one’s investment portfolio was associated with using social media for investment information.
• About 26 percent of social media users traded more than 10 times a month compared with about 17 percent of non-social media users.

The campaign is the latest in a series of FINRA initiatives begun in 2021 recognizing the growing number of new, self-directed investors in the market. These efforts include a new Instagram channel; an ongoing series of discussions at college campuses around the screening of Optimist’s award-winning documentary, This is Not Financial Advice and other initiatives to be announced.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.