Investors can now access an unprecedented amount of financial information without the guidance of a broker. Educating on-line investors requires an understanding of how these investors trade and the appropriate time and place to provide them with educational information. At the same time, the Internet provides a valuable resource for the Commission to more widely disseminate investor education materials. While on-line discussion forums may educate and provide a sense of community to investors, they also may provide a venue for fraudulent behavior. Many issuers monitor on-line discussions about their companies but refrain from addressing rumors about them in the marketplace for fear that they may create a continuing duty to correct or update.
Customers increasingly are concerned about the privacy of their personal information.
As on-line firms' data mining capabilities develop and the number of financial conglomerates continues to grow, so do customers' concerns about what these institutions can and will do with their personal information. Control over customers' personal information was recently the subject of much discussion in the financial modernization legislation debate. In addition, portals have become important intermediaries between broker-dealers and their customers. Findings and Recommendations Suitability Roundtable participants generally subscribed to the traditional notion of suitability, but suggested that the obligation did not apply to some, if not all, on-line activities. Although the participants were not unanimous on this point, the majority of them wanted clarification or guidance from regulators.