Buoyed by the success achieved in the two previous annual editions, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) plans to launch its third annual World Investor Week (WIW) between September 30 and October 6, 2019.
A statement by Nigeria’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday said WIW is a global campaign aimed at promoting investor education and protection while highlighting the various initiatives of securities regulators in these two critical areas. IOSCO members are to provide a wide variety of activities such as launching publications or services, promoting contests and organizing workshops, conferences and other events in their jurisdictions.
Many members, the statement added, leverage the event to organize further investor education activities throughout the year.
Given today’s digital environment, the WIW 2019 includes key messages regarding online investing, digital assets and Initial Coin Offerings, as well as re-emphasizing the basics of investing, the SEC stressed.
In last year’s WIW, IOSCO members and stakeholders from some 90 jurisdictions across six continents undertook a range of activities, such as offering investor-focused information and services, promoting contests to increase awareness of investor education initiatives, organizing workshops and conferences and launching local/national campaigns in their jurisdictions.
The statement quoted Acting Director-General of Nigeria’s SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, as expressing the commission’s determination to ensure capital market investors are adequately protected in all transactions.
That, she continued, is the reason the commission has stepped up enlightenment campaigns on some of its initiatives.
She recalled a number of initiatives put in place by SEC Nigeria “to boost investors’ confidence. We have the e-dividend Mandate Management System, the Direct Cash Settlement as well as regularisation of multiple subscriptions in place.
“Considerable progress has been made in the implementation of the consolidation of multiple shareholder accounts and electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS) as so far about 3.4bn shares have been consolidated. Both measures were introduced as part of checking the growth and possibly eliminating the unclaimed dividend menace in our capital market”.
Investors, Ms. Uduk stressed, also protects investors through the National Investors Protection Fund (NIPF) and the Risk-Based Supervision that enables the commission to supervise operators to do the right thing.
“We have a complaints management framework that enables investors to know where to complain to and how long it takes for such complaints to be resolved. We are committed to protecting investors in the work we do. We will keep working on our rules and the possibility of amending them when the need arises, we want more transparency in the market so that investors will feel comfortable and the market can be better,” she added.
The statement also quoted Ashley Alder, Chair of the IOSCO Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, as saying the 2019 edition of the WIW “evidences IOSCO’s continuous efforts and commitment to investor education and protection, encouraging new initiatives among IOSCO members and preparing them for dealing with the challenges of increasingly interconnected and digitalized capital markets.”