Individual investors are the backbone of the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), representing 75% of our equity trading turnover. TPEx has always placed great value on financial literacy and financial inclusion, recognising these as vital elements of our ongoing mission. In October 2021, TPEx is joining the “WFE Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy Campaign” for a third year, signalling our enduring commitment to this important initiative.
The OECD recommends that it is better to start financial education as early in life as possible. Financial literacy should be taught in schools because it has become a core life skill essential for participation in modern society. In a rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment, TPEx continues to provide comprehensive investor education programmes through various channels, to reach diverse investor groups.
In particular, youth education has been at the core of our strategy to build financial literacy for future generations, while our efforts assisting more experienced retail investors have focused on the themes of sustainability and ESG.
Education for new and young investors
TPEx recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed financial literacy and inclusion more firmly on the centre-stage than ever before. During the pandemic, trading among young investors has increased substantially as a result of new trading initiatives, such as convenient intraday odd-lot trading, the adoption of mobile trading apps, and the proliferation of thematic stock indices, which have enabled the creation of related products such as ETFs, ETNs, warrants, and so on.
In response to the rapid growth in the number of highly enterprising and yet less experienced young investors, TPEx has long provided an ongoing series of financial education programmes designed to build financial planning skills and to enhance understanding of risk and return. These programmes are designed to focus on securities investment and related risks, with an emphasis on hands-on application of what is learned.
TPEx aims to equip young adults who are in the early stages of their exposure to securities trading with a better understanding of investment, and to provide them with the necessary skills to navigate the complexities of the market. Every year since 2008, we have hosted the “Securities Talent Camp” for domestic college students. Thousands of potential investors and future securities professionals have taken part.
The Securities Talent Camp is an iconic event for TPEx, offering free courses that bring real market practice together with team challenges and fun activities. These events have consistently attracted overwhelming interest from college campuses.
Because of the pandemic, the Camp was held online for the first time in 2020. In 2021, we saw record-breaking enrollment, with 222 teams representing a total of 956 students from 63 schools joining the online Camp. A record number of these participants went on to complete all the assignments. These assignments included:
(1) Completing 3 online courses, covering:
a. Features and principles of the capital market
b. Diverse financial products listed on TPEx
c. Financial planning, portfolio management and risk awareness
(2) Teams of between three and five students were required to construct a portfolio worth an equivalent NT$5 million, and then created an 8 to 12-minute video presentation, including:
a. Market and industry outlook, with supporting information
b. A selection of at least three TPEx-listed financial products, with an analysis of their characteristics and an explanation of their allocations in the portfolio
c. An analysis of expected return and the related risks of the portfolio
(3) Finally, TPEx graded each team according to the quality of their teamwork and on how well the students had understood the financial tools and the markets covered.
The top three teams were awarded prize money and certificates.
The ongoing success of the Securities Talent Camp, even as it has evolved into an entirely virtual course, demonstrates TPEx’s firm commitment to financial literacy at higher educational institutions in this “new-normal” era.
Additionally, to cater to the unique demands of remote learning, TPEx launched a new “TPEx HOME Classroom” website in August. This serves as a one-stop learning platform, offering useful toolkits and links to financial education courses, helping young investors to locate the educational resources they need with ease.
Education for retail investors
A key feature of the equity market at TPEx is the active participation of retail investors. We consider that fostering resilience in our retail investors is essential to securing market stability.
TPEx consistently disseminates securities knowledge to the investing public. A major part of this mission involves raising awareness of the risks associated with markets in general, as well as risks associated with various types of new products. Given the COVID-19 situation, it is more important than ever to warn the investing public of the dangers presented by investment scams, misleading disclosures and over-leveraging.
With the aim of facilitating rational investment behaviour and risk-based decision making among retail investors, TPEx has provided educational resources and promotional materials including:
Education on sustainability and ESG
TPEx has been working on promoting sustainability and ESG practices for years. It has raised awareness among market participants by implementing related rules and introducing ESG concept products.
Our goal is to embed sustainability into every aspect of market activity, from issuance and investment to valuation and reporting. To achieve this goal, TPEx has dedicated itself to education and advocacy for sustainability/ESG via several channels: