Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), ADGM Academy, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Nasdaq Dubai, and CFA Institute, are all participating in the events held by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on October 4 as part of World Investor Week 2020.

Being an active member of the IOSCO, the SCA was invited to take part in this week’s events, which will bring together supervisory authorities representing at least 70 IOSCO member states.

The events that will take place this year aim to promote financial literacy among investors, highlight the importance of financial planning in making informed investment decisions, and facilitate discussions on the impacts of COVID-19 on financial markets across the globe.

The World Investor Week 2020 campaign is intended to promote investor education and to safeguard investor rights by combining the efforts of all bodies overseeing the securities and commodities sector within IOSCO member states, and by utilizing communication and media channels to enhance investor awareness and highlight the role supervisory authorities and financial markets play in protecting investors. 

The events held as part of the campaign will feature an interactive webinar on the importance of financial planning in making informed investment decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This webinar will bring together representatives from the SCA, ADX, and DFM, and CFA Institute, as well as financial experts, analysts, and economic journalists. A forum will also be jointly hosted with the Skyline University College to discuss the conditions that have prevailed across the world’s financial markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of this week’s events, ADGM Academy will host an interactive session, titled “Integrity at Work: The Value of Integrity on Investor Protection” on Wednesday October 7. It will also host another session on the role of Islamic finance in enhancing investor protection and raising investor awareness on Thursday, October 8. The DFSA will be issuing guidance to investors on how to manage their money and finances in a virtual world. This will include advice about ensuring they are dealing with a regulated financial firm, providing a heads-up on how they will interact with firms including the use of video conferencing and the use of digital documents for identification purposes and for contractual agreements on Wednesday, October 7.  

ADX and DFM will present their latest developments and recent achievements that will help enhance performance and improve the services offered to investors. These include ADX’s digital platform SAHMI for which it won the award of Best Trading Innovation Excellence - GCC 2020 from Capital Finance International “CFI”, in addition to a move by DFM to add derivatives to the list of tradable financial instruments. 

The events will also include intensive campaigns and awareness-raising activities, including a social media contest and daily awareness tips on newspapers and social media through October 4-6.

By participating in these events, the SCA, ADX, DFM, DGCX, ADGM, and DFSA all aspire to bolster the country’s image and status as a major financial hub across in the region and the world in line with the UAE vision to become among the world’s best countries.

The IOSCO, established in 1983, is recognized as the global standard-setter for the securities sector. Its members include securities regulators, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, stock exchanges, and various financial and monetary institutions. It comprise over 200 members, of which 114 are securities regulators. Its member states regulate more than 95 percent of securities markets across the globe. IOSCO strives to foster cooperation among its members and to develop supervisory standards for securities exchanges to ensure highly transparent and efficient trading, while facilitate the exchange of information and expertise, and developing uniform supervisory standards.

It also seeks to provide protection to investors and to enhance investor confidence in the integrity of securities exchanges by promoting cooperation to curb unsound practices and to oversee exchanges and brokers. IOSCO works to enhance coordination among its members to develop, implement, and enforce internationally-recognized standards, in addition to facilitating the exchange of information at the regional and international levels to help improve financial markets, while strengthen the market infrastructure, and developing proper regulations.