Authority supports investor education campaign
The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority is supporting a global campaign to highlight the importance of investor education and protection.
World Investor Week is promoted by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and this year’s themes focus on investor resilience and sustainable finance.
The 2022 campaign, which runs from 3 to 9 October 2022, builds on previous initiatives that have raised awareness of matters such as the basics of investing, crypto assets, and the prevention of frauds and scams.
A host of international organisations and regulators take part in World Investor Week to provide tips and guidance aimed at creating smarter investors.
Protecting consumers is one of the Financial Services Authority’s regulatory objectives, complementing its work to reduce financial crime and maintain confidence in the Island’s finance sector.
The Authority’s website includes a section dedicated to consumer awareness that provides advice to help people manage their finances and protect themselves against bad practice.
It also explains the options available to consumers if they are not satisfied with a financial product or service provided by a regulated business.
Martin Gelling, Senior Manager, Funds and Investments, said: ‘Participating in World Investor Week highlights the support that’s available to help people make informed choices about their finances. The current cost of living pressures and rapidly changing market conditions have emphasised the importance of education and protection. We want to help consumers future-proof their finances and protect themselves from harm.’
Key themes of World Investor Week 2022
Investor Resilience. A smart investor:
- Weathers negative financial shocks with an adequate emergency fund
- Understands that risk exists in all investments
- Recognises the importance of diversification, especially with respect to protecting investments from losses from a single, unexpected event
- Plans for life’s unexpected challenges with budgeting strategies to manage risk, reduce the impact of inflation, and avoid high interest debt
- Focuses on the impact of inflation on purchasing power and uses real rates of return to assess investment performance
- Conducts research before investing to protect against financial scams
Sustainable finance. A smart investor:
- Realises that sustainable finance may be referred to in many different ways, such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, socially responsible investing, and impact investing
- Reviews an investment’s disclosure documents to see how it weighs various ESG or sustainable finance factors
- Considers whether an investment’s stated approach to sustainable finance matches the investor’s investment goals, objectives, risk tolerance and preferences
- Understands that each sustainable finance investment opportunity is unique, and should be evaluated on its own terms