TD Ameritrade Shares ‘The Invested Life’

Brokerage firm TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation launched its own financial advice web series The Invested Life on the Money section of MSN.com today. The reality television-formatted series is hosted by familiar Onion News Network anchor Suzanne Sena, who tells us:

In these times of economic uncertainty, we want to give you the tools to take control of your financial future. So we went out and found people just like you and matched them up with some of the most well respected financial coaches from across the country—with one goal in mind: helping you manage your portfolio, and reaching your retirement goals.

Consumers are paired with independent financial advisers (who, we were surprised to find, are not TD Ameritrade employees) who coach them on subjects beyond just investing—retirement, taxes, college savings, real estate, and taxes. TD Ameritrade is planning to release three seasons of the show, each spanning a financial quarter.

According to a recent New York Times Business Day article, the campaign will cost TD Ameritrade an estimated $5 million to $10 million. “With our history as a leading online brokerage, doing something online seemed like a natural choice,” said Peter Sidebottom, Executive Vice President for Product and Marketing at TD Ameritrade. “Getting Americans to engage in their financial life in a new and creative way is important at this time.”

The Invested Life was developed by the MSN unit of Microsoft along with production and talent management agency Generate and Ogilvy Entertainment, part of the Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide division of WPP. Doug Scott, president of Ogilvy Entertaiment, told the New York Times, “the web is a better home for The Invested Life, because of the markets’ changing dynamics; the longer lead times required for television production could render the recommendations from the advisers as outdated or irrelevant.”