Background: Retail participation in financial markets is increasing in many countries, fueled by digital trading platforms and a new generation of young, highly self-directed investors. While this is a positive development, without strong financial literacy, investing can expose individuals to fraud, high-risk products they do not understand, and significant losses. As highlighted by OECD evidence, many adults struggle with fundamental financial concepts such as diversification and compound interest, and the PISA Financial Literacy assessment shows that today’s 15-year-olds also have limited financial knowledge and skills.

This matters: informed, safe and confident investing is not only a driver of long-term financial well-being, it is also a cornerstone of financial democracy. Strengthening financial literacy - through national strategies and evidence-based financial education programmes - is therefore critical to ensuring that retail investors, including the next generation, can navigate increasingly complex markets.

While the UK has not yet participated in the PISA Financial Literacy assessment, international evidence offers valuable benchmarks and lessons for strengthening financial education and preparing the future generation of savers and investors.

This webinar will explore what the PISA Financial Literacy assessment reveals about young people’s preparedness for their adult financial lives, including investing, and policy actions that can support informed retail participation in modern financial markets.

Speaker:

Carmine Di Noia is the Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), from 2022. Previously, he was Commissioner of the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) from 2016. He was also alternate member of the Board of IOSCO and the Board of Supervisor at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), chair of the Committee of Economic and Markets Analysis (CEMA) and of the Post-Trading Standing Committee at ESMA, and vice chair of the Corporate Governance Committee at OECD. He had been Deputy Director General at Assonime, member of the board of the Italian Stock Exchange, chairman of the Policy Committee of EuropeanIssuers and head of the technical secretariat of the Italian Corporate Governance Committee. He was member of various working groups at the European Commission: European Securities Market Expert Group (ESME), Clearing and Settlement Advisory Monitoring Expert Group (CESAME); Forum Group on Auditors Liability; Securities Expert Group on FSAP. He is Full Professor of Financial Markets and Banking at the Business School of Luiss University in Rome. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctorate in Economic Theory and Institutions at Tor Vergata University.