WFE members Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy

This year the WFE partnered with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to deliver the inaugural ‘Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy’ event as part of World Investor Week, which took place from 30 September 2019 – 4 October 2019.

WIW was a week-long, global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection. Thirty-nine WFE members from all over the world participated in the ‘Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy’ event. The purpose of this event was to promote the work that each WFE member was doing in their own jurisdictions to improve financial education and literacy. The events were also an opportunity to bring stakeholders together to celebrate the progress that had been made by each participating member.

Many of the WFE’s members already have existing Financial Education programmes, including training students at universities, and cooperating with academic institutions to expand their financial education programmes. Our members are also actively involved in educating their investors and collaborating with the public sector to raise awareness about the importance of financial literacy throughout society. Indeed, some WFE members have dedicated training and resource centres to disseminate knowledge. These include the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s NSE X-Academy; the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s Maruey Knowledge & Resource Center; and the Malta Stock Exchange Institute.

Some of the events hosted by WFE members as part of the 'Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy' initiative and World Investor Week 2019 are listed below:

B3 held a bell ringing ceremony with speeches from Gilson Finkelsztain, CEO, B3; Maria Netto, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and Marcelo Barbosa, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM). The bell ringing opened World Investor Week in Brazil, which was composed of 37 lectures in three Brazilian states (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre) and was attended by over 1,600 people.

Bahrain Bourse held a bell ringing event with His Excellency Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, in attendance alongside 80 senior officials and executives. The event highlighted Bahrain Bourse's existing efforts in promoting financial literacy including its annual TradeQuest programme, which is aimed at high school and university students, and the Smart Investor programme, which engages elementary school students.

Bermuda Stock Exchange employed the services of the town crier in Hamilton to announce its participation in 'Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy' and World Investor Week. The video can be found here.

BME held a bell ringing event, which was attended by Tajinder Singh, Deputy Secretary General, IOSCO, and Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Officer, WFE.

Borsa İstanbul held a bell ringing with speeches from Ali Fuat Taşkesenlioğlu, Chairman, Capital Markets Board of Turkey; Professor Dr. Erişah Arıcan, Chairperson, Borsa İstanbul; and Erhan Topaç, Vice-Chairperson, Turkish Capital Markets Association. The exchange also organised panels and seminars throughout World Investor Week. The titles of these sessions included: 'Individual Investor Training Program- My Money and Me', 'Foreign Exchange Rate Management for Real Sector Companies', 'Companies Shares Their Experiences', 'Financial Literacy for University Students'.

Bursa Malaysia used 'Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy' as an opportunity to commence its National Investment Debate Challenge, which is a competition aimed at undergraduates from universities across Malaysia. This competition aims to enrich students' investment knowledge and help them develop investing skill to grow wealth responsibly as they prepare to enter the workforce.

Cboe Global Markets hosted representatives from the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, Econ Illinois, Chicago Public Schools, Working in the Schools (WITS) and the Greenwood Project for the 'Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy' ceremony in Chicago. After the bell ringing, Cboe hosted a small reception to thank its partnering organisations for their dedication to enhancing financial literacy.

Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited (DSE) held an event with Swapan Kumar Bala, Commissioner, Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission (BSEC), as the chief guest. The exchange also hosted a session which focused on a paper presented by Mohammad Asadur Rahman, General Manager and Company Secretary, DSE. The session was chaired by Professor Dr Abul Hashem, Chairman, DSE.

Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) hosted an event which attracted attendees from universities, institutes, financial academies, securities companies and the media. The exchange also hosted a talk-show event entitled 'The importance of financial education for investors', which featured financial experts from Smart Train Professional Education; the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; the HCM Banking University; VNDIRECT Securities Corporation; and KIS Vietnam Securities Corporation. The speakers shared their practical experiences on educating investors and the public about financial matters.

Korea Exchange held a variety of activities throughout World Investor Week and to accompany 'Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy'. These activities included the Market Integrity Forum, a session on financial conflict prevention, and investor education workshops for senior people.

Malta Stock Exchange's bell ringing ceremony was attended by a representative from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), and Edward Scicluna, Malta’s Finance Minister, who delivered a speech about the importance of financial education.

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) conducted 565 Investor Awareness programmes across 221 cities and 22 states, while also running a video-based social media campaign on investor education, which reached five million people across India.

Palestine Exchange's event was held under the slogan 'Together to enhance the role of women to invest in securities'. The exchange held workshops for female entrepreneurs in Tubas and Bethlehem, as well as hosting a student delegation at the exchange itself where they learnt about the workings of the securities sector. The exchange also held a workshop on 'The Palestine Securities Sector' at Al Quds Open University-Hebron Branch.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) invited investors who attended the bell ringing to visit the SZSE Investor Education Center and listing hall to learn about the development and achievements of the Chinese capital market through various exhibitions. Additional events included launching the member brokers’ Achievements in Investor Education initiative; holding an Open House programme for cartoonists in SZSE's Investor Education Center; holding Investor Services programmes for the Qinghai and Gansu provinces; and launching the 'Securities Company Open House Program'.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) celebrated World Investor Week 2019 to promote investor education and protection globally. In honour of the occasion, Mr Hee Joh Liang, Chairman of the MoneySense-Singapore Polytechnic Enterprise Institute for Financial Literacy, Mr Noel Neo, Advocacy Committee Member, CFA Society Singapore, Ms Melinda Sam, CEO, Securities Association of Singapore and Ms Winnie Lim, Director, Consumer Issues Division, MAS struck the gong at market open. See more here: https://www2.sgx.com/daily-securities-market-opening#Recent

SIX Swiss Exchange organised breakfast presentations on topics including: 'The ABC of investing money: what is a stock, ETF, bond and structured product?'; 'How do I choose the right ETF?'; and 'How can I invest responsibly with ETFs?'. The exchange also partnered with the Swiss Finance Museum who offered guided tours through its current exhibition.

Tunis Stock Exchange used the opportunity to launch its Myinvestia Stock Market Challenge alongside the bell ringing event, as well as signing two partnership agreements with the Higher Institute of Technological Studies of Zaghouan and with the Graduate School of Economics, Accounting, Finance and Management of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Tunis (ESCT), to promote financial culture among students. 

The WFE members who participated this year included:

Bahrain Bourse

Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited

BME

The Egyptian Exchange

Borsa İstanbul

Luxembourg Stock Exchange

Malta Stock Exchange

The Nigerian Stock Exchange

Palestine Exchange

Qatar Stock Exchange

Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)

Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)

SIX Swiss Exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange

Tunis Stock Exchange

Tunis Stock Exchange

Bursa Malaysia

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)

Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE)

Cboe Global Markets

Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE)

Singapore Exchange (SGX)

B3