As part of Investor Education Month, Quebec’s securities regulator Tuesday unveiled some of its most significant financial education initiatives in its history.

During the upcoming year, the the Autorité des marchés financiers says it will provide Quebec investors with tools that are convenient, free and easy-to-understand to help them make informed financial and insurance decisions.

The AMF is ramping up its educational efforts to provide financial information that is easily accessible to Quebeckers. The more information consumers have about finance-related matters, the better protected they will be against fraud.

Partnership with Quebecor Media

In partnership with Quebecor Media, the AMF will be disseminating educational material starting in January 2011. Under this partnership, the AMF will be able to reach most Quebeckers directly through television, the Internet, magazines and educational inserts.

The various platforms include:

> 12 30-minute programs on a weekly basis on the Argent channel;
> Information capsules broadcast by TVA, LCN and Argent;
> An exclusive website and visibility on the sites of the TVA, LCN, Argent and Canoë networks;
> In-depth articles in magazines such as Moi et Cie and Les idées de ma maison;
> A monthly column in the financial affairs section (“Argent’) of the Journal de Montréal and Journal de Québec.

In co-operation with Gesca Ltée., the AMF has prepared four educational inserts for publication, starting Tuesday in La Presse, Le Soleil, Le Nouvelliste, Le Droit, La Tribune, Le Quotidien and La Voix de l’Est. More than 440,000 homes in Québec will receive the special insert over a period of four consecutive weeks. The themes covered will be: understanding personal finance; understanding investments; understanding life and health insurance; and understanding automobile and home insurance.

The educational material will also be available on the AMF website.

Website relaunch

The AMF will be launching its revamped website, www.lautorite.qc.ca, in a few days. Visitors who regularly use the site will notice numerous improvements in terms of performance, user-friendliness and accessibility. The site boasts a new look, layout and added features.

IE