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Today marks the end of the first World Investor Week, organized by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and its members. This week-long global campaign ran from October 2nd through October 8th and revolved around the importance of investor education and protection.
Over this past week, securities regulators and other stakeholders from more than 80 countries on all continents worked toward the common goal of educating and protecting investors and raising awareness of how to be a smart investor. Several important international bodies and networks supported World Investor Week (WIW), including IOSCO’s Asia-Pacific Hub, the International Forum for Investor Education (IFIE) and the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). For example, IOSCO’s Asia-Pacific Hub organized a workshop on leveraging behavioural economics for investor education and protection, while IFIE led a video initiative in the Caribbean that focused on engaging young people with financial literacy and investor education. Finally, the FPSB launched their World Financial Planning Day during the week. Within the next few weeks IOSCO expects to report on the various local as well as regional and global activities that were part of WIW.
Ashley Alder, Chair of the IOSCO Board and the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, said, “Participation levels and the large variety of investor-focused activities were encouraging. The success of this campaign is due to the dedication and efforts of many IOSCO members and other stakeholders all around the world.”
Paul Andrews, IOSCO Secretary General, said, “It is now important to maintain the momentum and keep working together toward better informed and better protected investors. The reality of today´s capital markets that are increasingly interconnected and digitalized has only reinforced the critical importance of investor education and financial literacy.”
José Alexandre Vasco, Chair of IOSCO´s Committee on Retail Investors, said, “We thank everyone for their support and participation and look forward to reporting on the outcomes of the campaign. We believe the outcomes will provide useful insights for organizations that want to start or build out their activities in the areas of investor education and protection.”
Information about WIW is provided on the campaign website at www.worldinvestorweek.org.
