SEC Announces Teacher Investment Outreach

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it is undertaking several teacher investment outreach efforts. The new efforts are part of the SEC’s Teachers Initiative.

The new initiatives include:

• the launch of a podcast series for public school educators;
• nationwide events for teachers; and
• the RISE 2.0 of California summit. 

Regional Initiatives

The SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office on Oct. 17 sponsored RISE 2.0 of California:  Retirement Investment Summit on Education, a conference at which experts and state and federal regulators discussed the issues facing California educators considering investing in 403(b) and 457(b) supplemental plans. 

The SEC's San Francisco Regional Office also has launched SECrets to Investing, https://www.sec.gov/page/teachers-outreach-podcast a podcast series for public school employees designed to inform them about:

• retirement planning;
• the unique options available to public school educators;
• investment basics; and
• avoiding fraud. 

The SEC has released the first three installments in this podcast series, and plans to make additional podcasts available through the school year.

About the Outreach

Through the outreach, the SEC seeks to advance the its commitment to protecting America’s educators when they invest in the securities markets by:

• informing educators about the importance of savings and investing;
• researching investment products and financial professionals before investing; and
• identifying the red flags of investment fraud.

The SEC also reports that its Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, its Retail Strategy Task Force, and other staff nationwide have been actively engaged in outreach events for teachers and educators throughout the United States concerning making investments.  Those efforts include events at schools, teacher seminars and employee benefit fairs, and the SEC plans to continue those activities throughout the school year.

Meanwhile, the SEC reportedly is investigating administration of 403(b)s and 457s.