19 June 2014

Poll: Which Information Source Is Best Positioned to Educate Individual Investors?

Posted In: Leadership, Management & Communication Skills, Private Wealth Management

Where should investors turn for investor education? The global investor-education community is very fragmented, with various organizations providing services at the national, jurisdictional or local level. Because not one of these organizations or information sources has a clear mandate as the de facto provider of investment education, we asked CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief readers, “Which information source is best positioned to educate individual investors?”

Which information source is best positioned to educate individual investors?

Mirroring the investor-education community, our poll results did not establish a clear investor-education authority. Surprisingly, those organizations that are easily identified as providers of investor education are deemed to be in the worst position for providing the service, with government entities (2%); self-regulatory organizations, or SROs (4%); financial institutions (10%); and nonprofits (14%) receiving only 30% of the total vote.

A further 28% of respondents find wealth managers to be best positioned, probably because they already have relationships formed and have their clients’ attention when investment decisions are being made. Unexpectedly, 37% think that investors are best served by accessing books, magazines and online resources on investment topics. It seems to me that many NewsBrief readers equate investor education with investment information.

Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.

Tags: Polls

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About the Author(s)

Robert Stammers, CFA

Robert Stammers, CFA, was director of Investor Engagement for CFA Institute and was responsible for increasing the use and distribution of Future of Finance and CFA Institute content by various audiences. Prior to joining CFA Institute, Stammers was the principal for his founded company where he consulted for real estate owners, lenders, and syndicators to develop and analyze structured real estate investments. There he devised strategy for obtaining debt and preferred equity capital and created finance-related marketing materials and research papers for various clients. Stammers has authored over 100 articles on various financial and investment topics for such investment periodicals as Forbes and Investopedia. He served as a senior equity analyst, where he was responsible for the creation of new investment tools and instructional products to provide the revenues for two new investment education companies. As a senior executive for several institutional fund managers, Stammers was the portfolio manager for a $1 billion enhanced real estate fund, a $1.2 billion private timber fund, and several pension fund separate accounts.