IFIE, IOSCO Conclude Fourth Joint Global Investor Education Conference

Held in Seoul and Hosted by KOFIA, Event Featured Experts from North America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

SEOUL, South Korea, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Forum for Investor Education (IFIE) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) held from 20-22 May 2012 a major joint investor education conference in Seoul, South Korea. The IFIE/IOSCO conference was hosted by the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA).

The two-and-a-half-day conference attracted more than 100 investor education professionals from around the globe. Full conference details are available online at http://www.ifie.org.

Experts from the world's leading regulatory organizations, stock exchanges, financial firms and associations took part in the conference and provided attendees with essential information for strengthening investor education in challenging times. The experts examined a number of topics, including techniques to improve investor literacy, develop national investor education strategies, and ways to embrace fresh technologies, such as social media, to improve investor education.

The conference also offered IFIE's new chair, Susan Wolburgh Jenah, President and CEO of Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), an opportunity to welcome attendees to the conference; and David Wright, the recently appointed Secretary General of IOSCO, a chance to powerfully underscore the importance of investor education.

In his remarks, Wright said: "Investor education is vital not for a fleeting minute in history, but permanently. Investors need educating now more than ever to break down the information asymmetries, be able to deal with rapid changes in the market place, and to better balance the huge differences in lobbying power between consumers – dispersed and fragmented – and the financial industry who are at the apex of global lobbying spending. IOSCO and I support and recognize fully the importance of investor education."

Other IFIE/IOSCO conference speakers and panelists included:

• Jong Soo Park, Chairman, Korea Financial Investment Association;
• Hyouk Se Kwon, Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea;
• Kun Ho Hwang, Immediate Past Chair, International Forum for Investor Education, and Executive Advisor, Korea Financial Investment Association;
• Roberta Wilton, President and CEO, CSI Global Education Inc., and Vice Chair, International Forum for Investor Education;
• Paul Andrews, Vice President of International Affairs, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), US;
• Mark Stechishin, International Affairs Counsel, Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada;
• Alparslan Budak, Assistant Secretary General, Association of Capital Market Intermediary Institutions of Turkey (TSPAKB);
• Keun Soo Kim, KCIE Advisory Committee Member, Associate Professor, Kyung Hee University;
• Gerri Walsh, President, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, and Chair, IFIE-IOSCO 2012 Global Investor Education Programme Committee;
• Robert Stammers, Director of Investor Education, CFA Institute;
• Jae Hoon Yoo, Commissioner, Securities and Futures Commission, Financial Services Commission of Korea;
• Jean-Pierre Paelinck, President and Secretary General, World Federation of Investors (WFI);
• Kathryn Edmundson, Executive Director of Secretariat, International Forum for Investor Education;
• Toshihiko Sasaki, Executive Director, Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA);
• Ana Claudia Silva Leoni, Head of Institutional Communication, National Association of Financial Market Institutions (ANBIMA), Brazil;
• Adu Anane Antwi, Director-General, Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
• Hesham Ibrahim, Advisor to the Chairman for Technical Office and Investor Awareness, Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA);
• Lori Schock, Director, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
• Nick Bannister, Former Chairman, International Forum for Investor Education, and Executive Advisor, Korea Financial Investment Association;
• Jeroo Billimoria, Managing Director, Child and Youth Finance International;
• Terrance Barkan, Chief Strategist, Globalization Strategies (GLOBALSTRAT);
• Ananta Barua, Executive Director, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI);
• Sujatha Sekhar Naik, Deputy General Manager, Head of Investor Affairs & Complaints, Securities Commission of Malaysia;
• Gerard Lemos, Chairman, Money Advice Service (MAS), UK;
• Richard Dyason, General Manager, Securities Investors Association Singapore (SAIS);
• Cecile De Wit, Education and Training Coordinator, International Organization of Securities Commissions;
• Patricia Bowles, Director of Communications & Education, British Colombia Securities Commission (BCSC), Canada;
• Gary Tidwell, Senior Advisor, International Organization of Securities Commissions; and
• Michael Herndon, Consumer Outreach Officer, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

This was the fourth joint conference to be undertaken by IFIE and IOSCO. The groups held their first joint conference in Madrid in 2007. The second joint IFIE-IOSCO conference took place in Washington, D.C., in 2009, followed by Cairo, Egypt in 2010.

ABOUT THE GROUPS

Chartered in 2005, the International Forum for Investor Education (http://www.ifie.org) is a unique alliance that brings together private sector and public sector providers of investor education to improve the global standards for investor education. The Forum is accomplishing this objective by serving as a clearinghouse for the exchange of information between providers of investor education from different jurisdictions, including organizations that are just beginning to develop investor education programs. IFIE enables providers of investor education to learn about investment products and the investment process in the international financial markets and about investor education programs globally. In addition, IFIE encourages providers of investor education to remain current with trends in investor education by disseminating relevant research and other materials in membership meetings and via a dedicated Web site and other channels.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions, founded in 1983, is the international policy forum for securities regulators and is recognized as the international standard-setter for the financial securities sector (http://www.iosco.org). The organization's membership regulates more than 95 percent of the world's securities markets in over 110 jurisdictions. IOSCO members have resolved:

• to cooperate in developing, implementing and promoting adherence to internationally recognized and consistent standards of regulation, oversight and enforcement in order to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent markets, and seek to address systemic risks;
• to enhance investor protection and promote investor confidence in the integrity of securities markets through strengthened information exchange and cooperation in enforcement against misconduct and in supervision of markets and market intermediaries; and
• to exchange information at both global and regional levels on their respective experiences in order to assist the development of markets, strengthen market infrastructure and implement appropriate regulation.

SOURCE IFIE, Washington, DC; IOSCO, Madrid, Spain; KOFIA, Seoul, South Korea