What's New in Investor Education

Aging and illness can change many things in a person's life, including the ability to manage one's own money. Learn five steps that can help you prepare in the event that diminished financial capacity becomes a serious problem for you or your loved ones.

Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are two of the most common ways for Americans to invest. These investment products have some important similarities, but they also have key differences.

Reading a brokerage statement might not qualify as one of life's more exciting experiences, but it's critical to smart money management. If you don’t read and understand your brokerage statement, you might not spot mistakes or even outright fraud that can be hidden in plain sight.

What does it mean for something to be tax-advantaged, pre-tax or tax-deferred? Learn how these terms apply to different benefits and investments, including retirement accounts and health care benefits, and how to maximize your tax savings.

A growing number of Native Americans share a need for sound financial planning and investing tools. Whether the sources are from tribal economic development, gaming, settlements or successful career choices, money provides opportunities for individuals, families and communities.

Exchange-traded notes (ETNs ) can offer investors convenient and cost-effective exposure to everything from commodities to emerging markets, but they can be complex and carry numerous risks. To help avoid unpleasant surprises later, be sure you understand how ETNs are traded, issued and redeemed before you invest.

Most bonds make regular interest or "coupon" payments—but not zero coupon bonds. Zeros, as they are sometimes called, are bonds that pay no coupon or interest payment. With a zero, you buy the bond at a discount from the face value of the bond and are paid the face amount when the bond matures.

For World Investor Week 2022, investors, investment professionals, teachers, parents, researchers, and others are encouraged to make a special effort to promote investor resilience and sustainable finance.

Market capitalization, or market cap, is one measurement of a company's size. It is the total value of a company's outstanding shares of stock, which include publicly traded shares plus restricted shares held by company officers and insiders.

If you purchased individual bonds for the income they provide, planning to hold the bonds until maturity, you may not have given much thought to whether you’d be able to sell them if you wanted to—a concept known as liquidity. Nevertheless, it's important to consider the ease of buying and selling individual bonds, and how cost-efficient it is to do so, when building a portfolio.

It's easy to ignore the guardrails that line the highway. But when a car swerves suddenly, those simple dividers do a lot to increase safety for motorists. The securities markets have guardrails, too, to guard against periods of extreme volatility both in individual securities and in the market as a whole.

Yield is a general term that relates to the return on the capital you invest in a bond. Price and yield are inversely related: As the price of a bond goes up, its yield goes down, and vice versa.

FINRA is issuing this investor alert to help investors better understand smart beta products.

While FINRA will never ask you for money, there are scammers who might try to convince you otherwise. These financial fraudsters are posing as regulators, requesting fees to transfer funds or offering bogus investment “guarantees” that will serve only to separate you from your savings.

Investing in real estate can be a good way to diversify your assets. But if you don’t want the responsibilities that come with ownership, real estate investment trusts (REITS) and other products can provide exposure to real estate without requiring you to actually buy or sell property.

On many measures of financial capability, U.S. adults generally fared better in 2021 than in the decade leading up to the pandemic, according to the FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study. However, the research also shows that Americans’ financial well-being remains uneven across different demographic groups.

Sometimes called longevity insurance, deferred income annuities (DIAs) often are purchased as an alternative to a pension by those seeking a set amount of guaranteed income in their later years. These products are typically sold by investment professionals or insurance agents. DIAs should not be confused with deferred fixed income annuities.

When it comes to retirement savings, even the most adventurous seniors may consider something routinely described as "plain vanilla": a fixed immediate annuity. With an immediate annuity, the investor pays an insurance company a lump sum in exchange for regular income payments. Both fixed and variable immediate annuities deliver income quickly, but there are differences.

Some companies and recruiters use online job sites and video technologies as a convenient and cost-effective way to communicate with applicants. Unfortunately, fraudsters are using them too, and they aren’t looking to offer you a job. Whether you are participating in an online job interview or have already been offered a position, there are some red flags that may signal a scam.

A diversified portfolio tends to be harder to achieve than simply following the mantra to avoid putting all of your investment eggs in one basket. This basic strategy can help, but it is often not enough to avoid concentration risk—the risk of amplified losses that may occur from having a large portion of your holdings in a particular investment, asset class or market segment relative to your overall portfolio. Learn more about concentration risk and read tips on how to manage it.

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.

When thinking about investing, one consideration is whether to invest funds all at once or over a period of time. If you choose the latter route, you might be opting for an investment strategy called dollar-cost averaging, in which you invest your money in equal portions, at regular intervals, regardless of the ups and downs in the market.

When investing in your 401(k) or other retirement savings account, target-date funds, also known as life-cycle funds, are one popular option. You pick a fund that is dated around when you plan to retire, and that fund promises to rebalance as you approach that date.

In recognition of Financial Literacy Month, FINRA is highlighting five steps you can take to boost financial capability—both your own and that of others you care about. Whether you’re looking to build your own base of financial knowledge or are seeking ways to help others, FINRA and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation offer many resources to support you and your loved ones along your financial journey.

When you invest in stocks of publicly traded companies, something comes with the package—corporate actions, which may affect a company’s stock and, therefore, its shareholders. Here are six common types of corporate actions and how they might impact your investments.