Next Monday, the school bells will ring again in the eastern part of Austria. A familiar sound for the students, in contrast to that of the stock exchange bell. When it comes to financial education, there is still room for improvement in Austria. The results of the 2022 PISA assessment on financial literacy, in which 20 OECD countries took partand which was published this summer confirm that Austrian students have above-average financial knowledge by comparison. However, financial literacy generally lags behind when it comes to capital market and pension topics in particular. The Vienna Stock Exchange is counteracting the lack of financial knowledge with its educational programme and is also intensifying its cooperation with University Colleges of Teacher Education.
"The ranking in the PISA test may sound pleasing at first glance, but in fact we are only in 6th place in the regional league in an international comparison. In detail, the results show that there is still a lot to be done, especially in the areas of investment and the capital market. Many students are very uncertain about investment products such as stocks, which are essential for building wealth. Important basic knowledge, such as diversification and/or compound interest, is often lacking," says Christoph Boschan, CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange, categorising the study results.
This is because the level of competence is generally moderate when compared on a global level. On average, no participating country achieves the second-highest of five competence levels. Students at this competence level can understand and explain more complex financial products, make long-term financial decisions also taking into account total costs and interpret detailed financial documents. Austria is in the third competence level.
"Aktienbarometer": Lack of knowledge hampers young people's pension provision
However, there is certainly a wish among young people to deepen their knowledge in this area, as the Austrian “Aktienbarometer” – a survey on securities ownership by Aktienforum, the Federation of Austrian Industries and the Vienna Stock Exchange – clearly shows. According to the study, one in five teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 19 already invests money in the capital market, while around two thirds of this age group who do not own securities are interested in investing. However, three quarters of them feel that their financial knowledge of the securities market is insufficient – and therefore refrain from investing. According to PISA, there is also a large socio-economic gap, with students from better-off families tending to have more financial knowledge.
"Our demand is therefore very clear: financial education must be included in the school curriculum across the board and accessible to everyone," says Boschan, "after the curriculum reform with more economic and financial education in the 5th to 8th grade, more financial knowledge must also be taught at upper secondary level. After all, a lack of knowledge today will cost many young people prosperity and financial security tomorrow."
Vienna Stock Exchange promotes financial education with its own academy, lectures and materials
The Vienna Stock Exchange has been helping to raise the level of financial education in Austria for many years with free school presentations and teaching materials for lower and upper secondary schools. The exchange also co-operates with University Colleges of Teacher Education, where teachers are supported in teaching financial knowledge in joint workshops and seminars. This cooperation will be further expanded in the future and soon be extended from two to eight University Colleges of Teacher Education.
The “Wiener Börse Akademie” also offers a wide range of training and further education programmes. Both newcomers to the stock market and experienced investment professionals have the opportunity to improve their education about the capital market and benefit from practical courses and the many years of experience of a team of experts. The Vienna Stock Exchange Academy has been a co-operation between the WIFI Management Forum and Wiener Börse AG since 2005.
As part of the National Financial Literacy Strategy, the Vienna Stock Exchange is committed to increasing financial knowledge in Austria and actively supports the initiative with five educational measures that fulfil the strategy's strict quality standards.
