Tornado Says its Learn and Earn Program Will Pay You To Learn How To Invest

Photo by Tornado

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

If you’ve ever waited for that mythical opportunity to get paid to become a more confident investor...

Tornado, an educational and community-driven brokerage firm, recently announced its Learn and Earn initiative, a financial wellness program that offers investors up to $50 for completing its educational modules on investing.

This initiative feeds into Tornado’s mission to make smart investing an engaging experience — one bolstered by a community of experts and novices all actively aiming to become better and smarter versions of themselves.

While Tornado’s brokerage services bear similarity to those of Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD and Wealthsimple Inc., it says that its emphasis on creating a platform that fosters education and community is what truly differentiates it from others. 

The Trading Landscape

Tornado’s emergence into the educational community on responsible investing comes at a seemingly appropriate time. Retail traders made up an estimated 19.5% of U.S. equity trading volume in 2020, up 4% compared to 2019 and almost 200% compared to 2010.

Tornado thinks that the trading landscape of 2020 may have garnered largely unrealistic expectations of the trading experience. Fueled by the emergence of some of the most accessible and affordable brokerage platforms ever and a strong bull run throughout most of 2020, many novice traders made a lot of money following methods that are not sustainable long term.

The reality of trading is that close to 90% of traders end up losing most of their money in 300 days. With no proper education on concepts such as risk management and edge-based trading, those that remain in the game could become part of the statistic.

Tornado is wary of advertisements with alluring titles such as “How To Get Rich Using this 1 Simple Trick” as the forte of financial scam artists aiming to take advantage of retail traders. By pretending to know the secrets of investing and trading, they offer traders their knowledge through packages or courses, which may end up providing uncredible, outdated, or even fabricated strategies.

During the pandemic, when the demand for such services reached a peak, these scam artists made a lot of money. A report by the Federal Trade Commission shows that Americans lost more money in the 1st quarter of 2021 through investment scams than the whole of 2019, 2018, and 2017.

Tornado Hopes To Aid Retail Traders

Tornado aims to change the trust aspect of retail trading by creating a community of credible and professional investors. While the company offers initiatives to investors of all levels, it provides special accessibility to communities that are most vulnerable to non-educated investing decisions. College students with verifiable emails, for example, can sign up for a free account.

Tornado cemented its support for collegiates through its multiyear partnership with the Minnesota Timberwolves, in which it will be the presenting partner of the Timberwolves College Night Platform. The company also aims to provide students with up to 2,500 complimentary tickets for a Timberwolves game.

A visit to the company’s website leaves one with a hopeful message for the future: “The more you engage, the smarter you get, and the more you gain — no matter where you’re starting from.”

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.