The SEC in all probability thought it was doing the proper factor by producing movies to alert retail buyers towards dangerous investments.
In one of many brief movies broadcast on its YouTube account on May 31, we’re witnessing a parody of a TV recreation present. Two candidates are enjoying a type of wheel of fortune. The present is known as “Investomania.”
Candidates have a number of choices starting from “Stocks on Margin,” “Meme Stocks,” “Guaranteed Returns,” “Stocks Tips from your uncle,” “Celebrity Endorsements,” “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out), “Tulip Bulbs,” “Timing the markets,” and “Crypto to the Moon.”
‘Ouch’
The host pronounces to one of many two contestants, Brad, that it’s his flip to play.
“Brad, It’s your investment,” the host stated.
“I’ll take meme stocks. Invest,” Brad responded. He then pressed the buzzer.
Then seems an enormous “X” on the display signifying that it’s a improper reply. At that second, we see a pile of cash, alleged to be Brad’s, disappear right into a lure door on the ground, and a pie spatters throughout Brad’s face. The viewers groans.
After an “Ouch”, the host then turns to the opposite contestant, Julie.
“Your investment Julie?” he requested.
“I’m gonna do some research first,” Julie answered, whereas tapping on her smartphone.
“Well played, Julie. Well played,” the host stated.
“We can do research?” Brad, the primary candidate requested, beneath the laughter of the pretend viewers.
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Then comes a voiceover: “Investing is not a game,” the narrator stated. “Always do your research before making an investment decision. Learn more at Investor.org. Before You Invest, Investor.org.”
The satire was poorly acquired on social media. Indeed, lots of the retail buyers who invested within the so-called meme shares, like GameStop (GME) – Get GameStop Corp. Class A Report and AMC Entertainment (AMC) – Get AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. Class A Report, final 12 months suffered massive losses after the 2 corporations’ shares slumped amid uncertainties about their future.
Meme shares gained in recognition with retail buyers and younger merchants on social platform Reddit in the course of the pandemic.
AMC shares, for instance, have misplaced greater than 54% of their worth since January.
‘Shouting’ in ‘Our Face’
The euphoria surrounding cryptocurrencies in 2021 has additionally died down. Bitcoin, the king of cryptocurrencies, and Ether, the second-largest digital foreign money by market worth, fell from their November highs. The crypto market has misplaced over $1.7 trillion since November, in keeping with knowledge agency CoinGecko.
“Very disappointing to see SEC disparage investors in meme stocks as if they must have done it thoughtlessly – esp when @SECGov permits most trading to take place in dark pools,” former SEC Branch Chief Lisa Braganca commented on Twitter. How a few video about darkish swimming pools @GaryGensler ? Or higher but, get buying and selling into the open.”
“Videos like this actually make you marvel the place the @SECGov’s priorities actually are….hmmmmm.” another user commented.
“I don’t marvel! They are shouting it in our faces bro 😱🤢🤯 Sec will not be going to guard retail buyers, very unhappy 😢,” stated one other consumer.
“Pretty unhappy when the @SECGov actually mocks the people who they pledge to guard. I want to hear from @BarbaraRoper1 to see what they’re doing to guard us from the PFOF abuse,” posted another Twitter user.
Underneath the YouTube video, the SEC posted a message saying the satire was for educational purposes.
“The SEC’s ‘Investomania’ public service marketing campaign makes use of a recreation present idea to coach buyers in a playful approach that investing will not be a recreation and that they need to do their due diligence when making funding selections.”
“Bottom line — don’t play video games together with your monetary future. You can be taught how one can keep away from getting caught up in game-like investing, and take a look at your information in our Investomania quiz at http://Investor.gov/investomania,” the company concluded.
Source: www.thestreet.com