On 8 September, the Chairman of the FSMA and Vice-Chairman of IOSCO, Jean-Paul Servais participated in the 2022 Financial Forum, the half-yearly Eurofi conference. This three-day event took place in Prague and was attended by more than 1,000 people.
The Eurofi Financial Forum offers representatives of the public sector and stakeholders (financial institutions, investment representatives, ...) a platform for the exchange of views on financial regulation and trends in the financial sector. This year, the Financial Forum was organized in collaboration with the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
In Prague, Jean-Paul Servais spoke at a debate on retail investing. He called for an increased retail investor participation in the European capital market, and said that, in his view, supervisors can contribute in many ways to the achievement of this goal. One of those ways is by streamlining the requirements on the disclosure to retail investors throughout the European Union.
Furthermore, Jean-Paul Servais pleaded for the adaptation of the regulation to the digital age. Retail investors should be able to invest in a digital-friendly way. Regulation should also be adapted in order to make it easier for retail investors to invest in sustainable products. Supervisors should contribute to enhancing retail investors’ financial literacy by enshrining financial education in their mission statements.
The text of the presentation of Jean-Paul Servais is available here.