In the current COVID-19 reality, people are looking for answers on how to better manage their money and investments in these uncertain times. Unfortunately, most lack the financial knowledge they need to deal with disruption to the economy and their livelihoods. Savers and investors alike want non-biased educational information from trusted sources. This is a niche that CFA Institute and local societies are well placed to fill.
New Financial Literacy and Investor Education Resources
Several volunteers from local societies with active financial literacy and investor education efforts have collaborated with CFA Institute staff to create some new Financial Literacy & Investor Education (FLIE) resources, for both retail investors and the public. The new content has been tested by members of the group in their own markets and CFA Institute is now making it available to all other societies for use locally.
This initial content consists of two articles created and released for Financial Literacy Month in the US (April):
These resources highlight those principles and best practices in both personal finance and investment management that are most relevant when dealing with unexpected financial events and volatile markets. The principles and best practices are critical in helping people develop the saving, spending, and investing discipline necessary for financing short and long-term financial needs and desires, and that can help them be better prepared to deal with unexpected events and expenses.
How Your Local Society Can Help to Share These Resources
Your local society can use these new resources either as complete documents or by excerpting sections and sharing them piece-by-piece in your own markets to retail investors and the public. Feel free to put your own local flavor, creativity, and culture on these pieces. We suggest:
- Promoting this content on your various social media channels or sharing the posts of other local societies.
- Publishing this content on your website or linking to this content from other local society sites.
- Creating derivative content, using these same principles, and then providing access to this content for those that would like greater detail.
- Creating new financial literacy events or incorporating this material into your existing FLIE activities.
- Sharing with your members so they can inform clients and other investors.
- Sharing with local FLIE partners, community organizations, or government for their use.
- Mentioning this project and these principles to other local societies, so they can help with distribution.
FLIE Working Group
Local societies have shown increasing interest in providing financial and investor literacy programs and messaging for a variety of reasons, including a combination of altruism, building brand awareness, member engagement, and mission orientation. The society volunteers and CFA Institute staff that created these new FLIE resources will continue to collaborate as an informal working group. This FLIE Working Group plans to recommend ways to support the local efforts of member societies, and to curate and create additional resources for those efforts. Current members include:
- Ashvin Vibhakar – CFA Society Arkansas
- Steve Davenport – CFA Society Atlanta
- John Given – CFA Society Atlanta
- Robin Masters – CFA Society Bermuda
- Alice Avanian – CFA Society Boston
- Will Krause – CFA Society Boston
- Mike Underhill – CFA Society Milwaukee
- Chris Merker – CFA Society Milwaukee
- Jacques Lussier – CFA Montreal
- Gene Natali – CFA Society Pittsburgh
- Greg Filbeck – CFA society Pittsburgh
- Barbara Mainzer – CFA Society Uruguay
- Fernando Zimet – CFA Society Uruguay
- Bob Stammers – CFA Institute
- Bob Luck – CFA Institute
Looking Ahead
We hope to learn from your efforts and continue to build out more resources for all of us to share. The FLIE Working Group anticipates developing additional related content by segmenting and digging deeper into those segments – using video, print, and social media options. As we do, and as we learn about your efforts, we will continue to share via Connexions and the Society Center.
Robert Stammers, CFA, Director of Investor Engagement for CFA Institute, commented: “CFA Institute and its member societies believe that financial markets are more effective when participants are knowledgeable. By providing impartial financial information and education for investors and the public CFA Institute and its member societies help to achieve the mission objective: To lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.”
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