On 21 March 2022, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a consultation report that seeks comments on the issues identified in an earlier report by its Retail Market Conduct Task Force (RMCTF) which focussed on the retail conduct implications of COVID-19. The RMCTF report was largely based on a survey which highlighted some recent shifts in observed misconduct, fraud and scam behaviour. One striking finding from this work is the notable recent change in retail behaviour and increase in trading volumes. The report analyses the potential reasons for this change and its implications in light of some of the recent trends, such as self-directed trading and increasing digitalization of financial activities.

The IOSCO is interested in gathering views on the issues in the RMCTF report and is seeking to develop a regulatory toolkit for jurisdictions to consider as they continue evaluating and addressing emerging retail market conduct issues. The purpose of the regulatory toolkit would be to place in front of regulators key issues that they may consider as part of their regulatory strategies. In this case, the regulatory toolkit could be designed for regulators to consider as they continue to evaluate and address the risks arising from the changing retail investor behaviour and trends outlined in the report.

The deadline for comments is 23 May 2022.

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