Empowering investors to make more informed financial decisions is a big mission — one that’s very hard to tackle. We’re lucky to have FINRA on the job. A few days ago (Oct. 13, 2026), FINRA released a set of new and updated tools to start the learning process. FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) oversees member broker-dealers who do business in the U.S.

But the task is not one-sided. You have an important part to play. It’s YOUR job to become a “resilient investor” — a subject we began talking about last week. In Christine Kieffer’s words, resilient investors take their time “to do research, using unbiased information and tools, and critically, to assess their own risk tolerance.” Kieffer is FINRA’s president of the Investor Education Foundation.

Now is your chance to engage.

Stocks, mutual funds and ETFs: Start with the Market Data and Investments Explorer tool (tinyurl.com/y6x9nt34), which replaces the Market Data Center. The free tool allows you to research every exchange-listed stock, as well as mutual funds and ETFs.

Using Cola-Cola as an example, you’ll find details about the history of the company (founded in 1886; the “world’s largest nonalcoholic beverage company”), its market performance (you can select the time span, ranging from one day to all time), key statistics related to the stock (including price-to-earnings ratio, total yield and market cap), and the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including quarterly and yearly reports and insider activities).

The tool also provides a list of the top mutual fund and ETF holders of the stock, risk metrics and links to learning more about equities.

Bonds: FINRA’s Fixed Income Data platform (tinyurl.com/3ncyehwh) will help you with bonds.

Fund Fees: FINRA’s Fund Analyzer tool will help you compare the cost of owning mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded notes and money market funds (tinyurl.com/ypudf8w5).

Avoiding Scams: You’ll want to check out the updated Scam Meter (scammeterquiz.finra.org), which presents five “real-world scenarios,” with users choosing how they would respond to each one. One scenario involves a social media ad for a “hot stock pick by a prominent financial professional,” with the ad directing you to an encrypted chat investment club where members urge you to buy an unfamiliar, low-priced stock “that’s poised to explode.” What do you do?

Each time you choose a response, you’ll receive immediate feedback on whether your selection is the correct one. At the end, the feedback gives you a “red-flag” scam awareness score and breaks down your responses into low and high awareness, with explanations and links to FINRA Investor Insights for further information on each topic.

Assessing vulnerability: When it comes to potential fraud, the tool to use is the updated Risk Meter (riskmeterquiz.finra.org). Users answer 10 questions to assess their vulnerability to fraud. The questions include how often you feel isolated from others, how often do you check if the person selling or giving advice is licensed or registered before investing, and how confident you are that you’ll never lose money to a financial scam.

Social media tools: FINRA’s latest Investor Insight, released Oct. 14, falls under the category of Protect Your Money. The article “Following the Crowd: Investing and Social Media” cautions investors who use social media platforms for investing ideas to “carefully evaluate the information you find there” (tinyurl.com/4u4m5zh8).

The article notes that the 2025 FINRA National Financial Capability Study Investor Report indicated 60% of investors under 35 cite social media as an information source, and 61% followed financial influencers, aka “finfluencers” (tinyurl.com/ynk3ym4a). It also offers five tips for consideration, including understanding the information sources (in part by checking out qualifications using FINRA’s BrokerCheck or the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database) and focusing on a balanced strategy.

Bottom Line: “Investors are flooded with financial information every day, and it can be difficult to know what to trust,” said Kieffer. “These tools cut through the noise by giving investors trusted information, practical insights and the confidence to make more informed financial decisions.”

Regulators are on our side by offering resources. But things don’t happen on their own — it’s up to you to engage to become a resilient investor.

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Seasoned investment counsel (tinyurl.com/52nus8hz) and award-winning columnist and author, Julie Jason, JD, LLM, promotes financial literacy and investor protection. Read her latest book, “The Discerning Investor: Personal Portfolio Management in Retirement for Lawyers (and Their Clients)” (tinyurl.com/4u7h9pjs), published by the American Bar Association. Write to Julie at readers@juliejason.com. While all questions cannot be answered, each email is read and reviewed and can lead to discussion in a future column.

COPYRIGHT 2026 Julie Jason