The IOSCO World Investor Week delivered key messages on investor education and investor protection around the globe

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) celebrated the sixth annual World Investor Week (WIW) from 3 to 9 October 2022, although some participating jurisdictions will continue hosting WIW-related activities in October and November.

For the first time since the initial WIW edition in 2017, regional launch events were celebrated in Africa-Middle East, Europe and the Americas to mark the celebration of the WIW, in addition to the global kick-off event. Securities regulators, stock exchanges, financial intermediaries, financial industry and professional associations, universities and organizations representing civil society, among many others, joined the campaign and conducted a wide range of activities (in-person, hybrid and virtual formats) to deliver key messages and promote financial literacy for themes related to sustainable finance, crypto assets, investor resilience, and fraud and scams prevention.

Pasquale Munafò, Chairman of the IOSCO Committee on Retail Investors and Senior Finance Professional, Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa, Italy, said: “Financial and investor education is needed all around the world. Investors in developed and emerging markets alike can benefit from increased levels of financial literacy to take informed investment decisions. Actual and potential investors need to plan for their future and need to know how to remain financially resilient through different circumstances in their life cycle.”

One of the core objectives of IOSCO refers to investor protection. There are different ways to promote this objective, including through financial and investor education. In this vein, Jose Vasco, WIW Working Group Coordinator, and Director, Office of Investor Protection and Assistance, CVM Brazil, said: “The need for investor education and financial literacy has never been greater than today. As the financial marketplace continues to evolve and innovate, investors require a better understanding of the financial ecosystem to evaluate the choices available to them, take informed decisions and avoid financial fraud. The WIW will continue disseminating key messages on investor education and investor protection and fostering learning opportunities for investors.”

The WIW website www.worldinvestorweek.org provides additional information on the activities conducted during 3-9 October, as well as on the WIW-related events to be hosted by some participating jurisdictions in other weeks of October and November.

NOTES TO THE EDITORS:

About IOSCO

1. IOSCO is the leading international policy forum for securities regulators and is recognized as the global standard setter for securities regulation. The organisation’s membership regulates more than 95% of the world’s securities markets in some 130 jurisdictions, and it continues to expand.
2. The IOSCO Board is the governing and standard-setting body of IOSCO and is made up of 34 securities regulators. Mr. Ashley Alder, the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, is the Chair of the IOSCO Board. The members of the IOSCO Board are the securities regulatory authorities of Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Ontario, Pakistan, Portugal, Quebec, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (both the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). The Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority and the Chair of IOSCO´s Affiliate Members Consultative Committee are also observers.
3. The Growth and Emerging Markets (GEM) Committee is the largest committee within IOSCO, representing more than 75% per cent of the IOSCO membership, including ten of the G20 members. Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Executive Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, Egypt is Chair of the GEM Committee. The committee brings members from growth and emerging markets together and communicates members’ views and facilitates their contribution across IOSCO and at other global regulatory discussions. The GEM Committee’s strategic priorities focus on risks and vulnerabilities assessments, policy and development work affecting emerging markets, and regulatory capacity building, among others.
4. IOSCO aims through its permanent structures:
   • to cooperate in developing, implementing and promoting internationally recognized and consistent standards of regulation, oversight and enforcement to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent markets, and seek to address systemic risks;
   • to enhance investor protection and promote investor confidence in the integrity of securities markets, through strengthened information exchange and cooperation in enforcement against misconduct and in supervision of markets and market intermediaries; and
   • to exchange information at both global and regional levels on their respective experiences to assist the development of markets, strengthen market infrastructure and implement appropriate regulation.

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