The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Monday released a statement announcing its active participation in World Investor Week 2023 (WIW2023), a global initiative that unites regulators from more than 100 countries across six continents, alongside 12 regional and international organisations.

According to the announcement, WIW2023 is an annual, week-long event promoted by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

CySEC chairman George Theocharides

CySEC chairman George Theocharides

The event, which celebrates its seventh edition, is scheduled to run from October 2 to October 8, although participating jurisdictions may conduct their WIW-related activities any other week in October or November.

Moreover, the announcement explained that the primary aim is to raise awareness and underline the importance of financial education in order to bolster retail investor protection worldwide.

This year’s campaign focuses on three main themes. These include investor resilience, crypto assets, and sustainable finance, which the IOSCO Board has identified as particularly relevant to current and anticipated trends in global markets.

Other important themes cover fraud and scam prevention, the basics of investing, technology, as well as digital finance.

“CySEC has been an enthusiastic participant in World Investor Week since 2019, through various initiatives aimed to educate and inform the public about the significance of financial literacy and the various inherent investment risks,” the commission said.

“CySEC’s participation in this year’s event will feature a range of online activities, highlighting the importance of financial education and investor protection,” it added.

These activities, CySEC explained, include the publication of a new investor guide, the creation of a booklet with important advice on investing basics, sustainable finance, investor resilience, fraud and scam prevention, crypto assets, and the promotion of the key campaign messages through the commission’s social media channels.

In addition, starting today, CySEC has uploaded on its website the campaign’s logo, along with a link to the World Investor Week 2023 website and is encouraging its regulated entities and other financial sector stakeholders to spread the campaign’s key messages in their own way.

What is more, CySEC chairman George Theocharides commented that “World Investor Week 2023 provides an excellent opportunity to raise further awareness not only among investors but also the general public regarding the risks of investments”.

This year’s key messages address three crucial topics, Investor Resilience, Crypto Assets, and Sustainable Finance,” Theocharides said.

“Further to our supervisory role as Regulators, it is also important to promote financial education to investors and the public at large, especially in today’s rapidly changing technology-driven environment and the development of complex and high-risk products,” he added.

“Awareness and prevention are key factors to mitigating investor exposure to the risks involved, and this is where we channel our efforts,” the CySEC chairman concluded.