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IOSCO Launches its Fourth World Investor Week to enhance Investor Education and Protection

Regulators	665 VIEWS
Regulators
665 VIEWS

Monday, October 05, 2020 / 02:47PM / By IOSCO / Header Image Credit: Ecographics

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today launched its fourth annual World Investor Week (WIW) with more organizations participating in the event than ever before.

During the event, securities regulators, stock exchanges, international organizations, investor associations and other stakeholders from some 100 countries will offer a variety of activities to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection in their own jurisdictions, particularly during the COVID 19 pandemic.

While WIW is scheduled from the 5 to 11 October, jurisdictions can choose alternative weeks in October or November to stage their events, given the logistical issues and other challenges posed by the pandemic. Many participants have opted to hold their campaigns in a digital format.

To present the campaign and assist jurisdictions in organizing online events during WIW, the IOSCO WIW Working Group hosted two well-attended webinars for IOSCO members on 5 August and 2 September 2020. Presentations from the webinars are available online at: http://www.worldinvestorweek.org/resource-list.html.

The World Federation of Exchange has organized a "Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy" ceremony. More than 35 Exchanges and CCPs around the world will ring the bell for financial literacy during the week or offer financial literacy-related activities in support of World Investor Week. The New Zealand Exchange (NZX), in partnership with the NZ Financial Markets Authority, kicked off the event early Monday with the first ringing of the opening bell.

A key objective of the WIW is to encourage IOSCO members, international organizations and other relevant parties to coordinate their activities to promote investor education and protection while also delivering key messages for all investors to help them make sound investment decisions. Part of this year's campaign is to warn investors not to be tempted to invest in risky products by misleading information.

The WIW key messages for 2020 highlight the basics of investing, including, among other things, the importance of assessing the impact of fees when choosing an investment and understanding that all investments entail risks. The WIW will again stress last year's messages regarding online investing, initial coin offerings, crypto-assets and ed-Tech issues, such as digital learning and online education. It will also deliver a new key message about the risk of investing in these uncertain times caused by COVID-19.

In 2019, securities regulators, stock exchanges, international organizations, investor associations and other IOSCO stakeholders from 89 jurisdictions participated in the campaign. IOSCO communicated its key messages from this event through the press and various online channels, including Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/worldinvestorweek) and Twitter

(https://twitter.com/IOSCOWIW). In 2019, the number of social media posts soared 830% from the year before.

Paul Andrews, IOSCO Secretary General, said, "Every year, WIW attracts growing international support and new participants, thereby underpinning IOSCOÂ´s steadfast commitment to investor education and protection. This fourth reiteration of WIW is particularly relevant, given the impact of COVID 19 on global capital markets and investor protection."

Jose Alexandre Vasco, Chair of IOSCO's Committee on Retail Investors, said, "It is encouraging to see that the number of WIW campaign participants continues to increase, reflecting the growing importance of this event. I would like to commend the dedication and enthusiasm of the WIW Working Group, and I am confident that this campaign will contribute to enhancing retail investor education and protection in member jurisdictions."

The dedicated campaign website (http://www.worldinvestorweek.org) provides all relevant resources, including an implementation guide, key messages, press releases and continuously updated information. It also includes details about the various participating authorities and the international organizations supporting this effort.