MOEX rings the bell for financial literacy
On 8 October 2020, MOEX held an opening bell ring ceremony to support Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy initiative.
The online ceremony was held as part of MOEX Home Talks. Guest speakers were Mikhail Mamuta, Head of the Bank of Russia’s Service for Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion and a Member of the Bank of Russia Board of Directors; Vladimit Potapov, CEO of VTB Capital Investments and Senior Vice President of VTB Bank; Dmitry Panchenko, Head of Tinkoff Investments; and Artem Golubev, Director of Brokerage Business at Sberbank. The meeting was moderated by Maria Kharlashkina, Deputy Head of Strategy of MOEX.
The tenth edition of MOEX Home Talks was devoted to financial awareness. Massive flows of retail investments into exchange markets have put the spotlight on financial culture and public awareness of investing. The MOEX Home Talks guests discussed actions taken by the securities regulator and market participants to promote investments, the best ways to educate investors, and how many retail investors may join MOEX markets.
Maria Kharlashkina said:
"The number of retail investors in Russia is growing each day. Almost 7 million people have opened brokerage accounts to date, with 3 million newcomers this year alone. To promote financial tools and financial literacy Moscow Exchange runs extensive awareness-raising initiatives among the public: MOEX School opened three years ago and since then has held more than 2,000 educational events across all Russia. MOEX also hosts a number of annual events, such as Invest Trial and Invest Battle. This year MOEX launched the ‘Investments Without Panic’ project, an educational podcast called "Money Makes Money’, and two Telegram channels. Now we are joining the global Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy initiative, which showcases how exchanges worldwide are improving financial literacy and popularising financial education".
Mikhail Mamuta said:
"For the Bank of Russia, it is important that disappointing returns do not slow the growing number of retail investors. This requires investors to have deep insights into financial instruments, their specifics and associated risks. Well-informed investors are well-protected, and we are open to help further enhance investor protection. Most of the educational programmes organised by the Bank of Russia are now available online. Our online lessons have already been taken by several million schoolchildren. We are seeking to expand inclusion in our programmes and allow as many potential investors as possible to use them".
The opening bell ring ceremony to promote financial literacy was held for the second time in response to a call from the World Federation of Exchanges as part of World Investor Week (WIW) 2020. In 2019, the initiative drew support from 33 exchanges round the world.
WIW, which runs from 5 October to 11 October 2020, is a week-long global campaign promoted by the International Organization of Securities Commissions to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection, and to highlight the various initiatives of securities regulators in these areas.