The Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) Investor Office has had a busy first year setting policy, conducting research and establishing educational and outreach initiatives — and it promises to make advancements on other initiatives within the next 12 months, according to a new report from the OSC released on Thursday.
Since launching on Oct. 30, 2015, the OSC Investor Office formed partnerships with more than 30 organizations; established a new Seniors Expert Advisory Committee to help better understand and address issues related to older investors; contributed to the expansion of the OSC’s research capabilities; and introduced several innovative tools for investors and the industry, according to the report.
In addition, education and outreach activities saw significant increases in use and participation. For example, there was a 35% increase in visits to OSC Investor Office resources (to 4.8 million from 3.56 million); a whopping 1,216% increase in participants in the OSC’s community and teletownhall outreach events (to 1,605 from 274); a 33% increase to OSC Investor Office followers on Facebook and Twitter (to 8,402 from 6,331); and a significant 551% rise in shares, “likes” and clicks of OSC Investor Office social media communications (to 34,460 from 5,297).
“The Investor Office launched with an ambitious agenda,” says Tyler Fleming, director of the OSC Investor Office, in a statement. “We aim to achieve better investor outcomes by expanding and modernizing the OSC’s efforts in investor engagement, research, education and outreach, and by bringing new perspectives to the organization’s policy-making and operations.”
The OSC Investor Office will look to advance important projects during the next 12 months, the report states, some of which are outlined in the OSC’s 2016-17 Statement of Priorities. These include:
- Publishing a paper that examines behavioural finance and behavioural sciences concepts and investigates how they are applied in other jurisdictions.
- Publishing the OSC’s overall seniors strategy and work with the OSC’s Seniors Expert Advisory Committee to better meet the needs of this growing demographic.
- Launching a new, mobile friendly version of the investor education website GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca as more than half of all web traffic now takes place on mobile devices.
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