New CSA report highlights investor education in turbulent times

Montreal — Educating investors on weathering volatile markets and avoiding scams are recurring themes in the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) new report, Investor Education in Canada 2020, published today to kick off October’s Investor Education Month.

As much of the country went into lockdown in March following the outbreak of COVID-19, the impacts were almost immediate, including massive single-day declines on Canadian marketplaces that rattled investors as well as con artists who emerged to exploit fear and confusion. In the face of this unprecedented event, the CSA quickly pivoted investor education and financial literacy messaging to reflect the rapidly changing financial landscape.

 “The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on all Canadians is an unprecedented historical event,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “The CSA and its members demonstrated our ability to develop innovative investor education initiatives during this unique and challenging time. We moved quickly and collectively to make Canadians aware of potential fraudulent investment schemes and to exercise caution when making financial decisions during economic uncertainty.”

The annual activity report highlights CSA and member jurisdiction’s initiatives, including work on senior financial abuse, affinity fraud, investment basics for millennials and beginners, financial information for women, and many locally-focused campaigns on investor protection and financial literacy.

Investor Education in Canada 2020 is available in English and French.

The CSA also supports World Investor Week (WIW), an initiative of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which takes place October 5 to 11.

The CSA’s latest investor education updates are available by following @CSA_News on Twitter and @CSA.ACVM on Facebook, or visiting the CSA’s website, securities-administrators.ca.

Additional investor education resources can be found on provincial and territorial securities regulators’ websites:

Alberta Securities Commission 
CheckFirst.ca
albertasecurities.com

Manitoba Securities Commission
Moneysmartmanitoba.ca 

Ontario Securities Commission 
GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca
osc.gov.on.ca

Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec)
https://lautorite.qc.ca/en/general-public
https://lautorite.qc.ca/en/general-public/covid-19
Tes affaires!         

The New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB)
fcnb.ca/investing
fcnb.ca/fr/placements

Nova Scotia Securities Commission 
nssc.novascotia.ca

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

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For Investor inquiries, please refer to your respective securities regulator. You can contact them here.

For media inquiries, please refer to the list of provincial and territorial representatives below or contact us at media@acvm-csa.ca.

For more information: