-- Elections Take Place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia During 7^th Annual IFIE-IOSCO Global Investor Education Conference

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the International Forum for Investor Education (IFIE) today elected Paul Andrews, Vice-President and Managing Director of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) International, as IFIE Chair during the annual IFIE members' meeting.

IFIE members also elected Alparslan Budak, the Assistant Secretary General of the Turkish Capital Markets Association (TCMA) as IFIE Vice-Chair, and Ana Claudia Leoni, the head of Education at the Brazilian Financial and Capital Markets Association (ANBIMA), as IFIE Treasurer/Secretary.

Members from the alliance, which include more than 60 organizations of regulators, SROs, central banks industry associations, non-profit programme providers and other interested stakeholders from 35 countries, elected the three IFIE officers the day before the opening of the 2015 IFIE-International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Global Investor Education Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme for this year's conference, which is being hosted by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC), is Financial Capability and Investor Engagement:  Goals Strategies and Outcomes.

Approximately 120 regulators, investor education practitioners, industry leaders, government agencies and other stakeholders from 30 countries and every continent are participating in the IFIE-IOSCO event, which is being held May 18 – 20 at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The annual IFIE-IOSCO conference has come to be regarded as the global investor education event of the year.

IFIE Chair Paul Andrews said:  "It is an honor to be part of IFIE, and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.  IFIE has accomplished a great deal in a very short period of time, and working together with partners such as IOSCO, I know we will accomplish great things over the next two years." 

Paul Andrews directs all international engagements at FINRA International.  He also leads FINRA's efforts at IOSCO and the Council of Securities Regulators of the Americas (COSRA). Andrews sits on the Regulatory Advisory Committee of IOSCO's Affiliate Members Consultative Committee (AMCC), serves as the Chair of the AMCC Task Force on Risk, and has served as the Acting Chair of the International Forum for Investor Education since December 2014.

Alparslan Budak joined TCMA in 2001 and is currently in charge of the Research & Statistics, International Relations, Public Relations and Information Technology departments. Budak is the Vice-Chairman of the Financial Planning Standards Board of Turkey and Board Member of the Association of Business Persons from Boğaziçi University. He is a regular speaker at international and domestic events and also lectures as guest speaker at several universities in Turkey.

Ana Claudia Leoni joined ANBIMA10 years ago, when she was in charge of the Association's Institutional Communications area. Currently, Leoni is responsible for the Education area, which includes Investor Education and Certification Programs. She is a member of the National (Brazilian) Financial Education Committee (Conef) and a member of the Board of the Brazilian Financial Education Association (AEFBrasil). In 2015 she was nominated to the board of the Brazilian Institute for The Certification of Financial Professionals (IBCPF). Leoni also is a member of the Advisory Board of the IFIE and is chairwoman of the IFIE/Americas Chapter.

About IFIE

The International Forum for Investor Education (http://www.ifie.org) is a global membership organization committed to strengthening resources and standards for financial capability and investor education within and across jurisdictions through such things as global conferences; webinars; surveys; a resource clearinghouse; and development and distribution of best practices, implementation strategies and leadership support.  IFIE also has global regional Chapter networks of members in Asia (IFIE/AFIE), MENA (IFIE/MENA) and the Americas (IFIE/Americas) who work together to develop and implement approaches to regional challenges in financial education, financial capability and investor education.

Related Links

http://www.ifie.org

SOURCE International Forum for Investor Education