 | Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! |
(Kitco News) - The U.S. States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) has announced that the theme for April’s National Financial Capability Month is “Investing for everyone,” which will include a review of the risks of cryptocurrency investing.
The announcement from the OIEA indicates that the SEC leadership and staff will host a series of investor education events across the country, targeting various audiences, including students, underrepresented communities, older investors, and the military.
“Investors turn to our capital markets every day, whether to grow a nest egg, plan for retirement, save for an education, or prepare for the inevitable bumps along the way,” said Chair Gary Gensler. “To be an informed investor is to be a more effective investor, and I encourage the public to take advantage of the many resources we offer on Investor.gov.”
Included in the list of resources was a link to the March 23 investor alert released by the SEC titled “Exercise Caution with Crypto Asset Securities,” which warned investors that, “Investments in crypto asset securities can be exceptionally volatile and speculative, and the platforms where investors buy, sell, borrow, or lend these securities may lack important protections for investors.”
While crypto proponents have had plenty of issues with how the SEC has approached regulating the crypto industry over the past year, the agency is correct that financial education is something that is sorely needed for investors in the U.S.
According to the results of a survey from Unbiased, a personal finance platform that empowers individuals to make confident, competent financial decisions, the U.S. population shows “concerning shortcomings” with their level of financial literacy and their confidence in planning for retirement.
The survey included responses from 1,000 nationally representative US adults ages 18 and older between February 17 and February 21, 2023.
The results of the Unbiased 2023 Financial Confidence Survey showed that only 33% of adults in the U.S. consider themselves confident in their financial knowledge, with an additional 17% stating that they do not feel financially confident at all.
When asked about the reason for their lack of knowledge, 47% of respondents said that the available products were too complex, while 29% cited not being taught financial matters in school as the primary cause. Even more concerning was the fact that 49% of all consumers said they would feel too intimidated to seek financial advice, even if they needed it, while an additional 33% said they might feel too intimidated.
"When it comes to our physical health, we trust medical experts for recommendations to keep us on the right path, but unfortunately, that mentality isn't the same regarding our financial health,” said Karen Barrett, founder and CEO of Unbiased. “While nearly half of U.S residents find financial topics complex, an even greater amount feel too intimidated to seek financial advice. Besides being intimidated, many cite that they do not seek input from a financial advisor due to perceived cost, lack of assets, or because they do not know where to turn.”
|
| SEC Chair Gensler welcomes Biden's $2.4 billion in funding, will use funds to fight 'misconduct' in crypto |
On the topic of cryptocurrencies, common terms such as NFT and cryptocurrency were found to be misunderstood by a large percentage of the U.S. population. Crypo’s actually ranked second in terms of which areas respondents felt the least confident in, with 44% indicating low confidence in their crypto knowledge, while 47% had low confidence in investing in the stock market and 36% struggled with retirement planning and pensions.
The areas where respondents felt the most confident were savings (53%), banking (47%), and credit cards (42%). Only 21% felt confident regarding retirement planning.
To help address the lack of education and confidence, Unbiased offers a free library of information and resources curated to empower people to make financial plans and decisions confidently.
