SEC Seeks to Protect Teachers and Military Personnel

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced two new initiatives to educate and protect teachers, active duty military personnel and veterans, the Teachers’ Initiative and the Military Service Members’ Initiative. Both of these initiatives build on the SEC’s past efforts and focus additional enforcement and investor education on these groups.

“Teachers, active duty military and veterans provide tremendous service to our country, often at great personal and financial sacrifice to themselves and their families, yet far too often are targeted and fall victim to securities fraud and other misconduct,” says SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. “These new initiatives reflect the Commission’s dedication to fighting fraud and to educating retail investors. My colleagues and I are particularly focused on ensuring that our teachers, veterans and active duty military, who often leave financial planning to others, know the financial services they are getting, what they are paying for those financial services, and to call us if something doesn’t seem right.”

The initiatives will increase proactive outreach to these groups to educate them about savings and investment, investment fees and expenses, retirement programs aimed at educators and service members, and the red flags of investment fraud. The initiatives will be led by the Enforcement Division’s Retail Strategy Task Force in partnership with the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.

“The Enforcement Division is committed to fighting for our country’s educators, service members and veterans, who may be vulnerable to fraud in the securities markets,” says Steven Paikin, co-director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.