ISLAMABAD

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Bahria University Islamabad have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish cooperation for conducting investor education seminars for the students and faculty of the university.
The MoU was signed at the SECP headquarters in Islamabad is part of the SECP’s investor education program launched under the brand “Jamapunji”. SECP Chairman Zafar-ul-Haq Hijazi attended the ceremony. Chairman SECP emphasized on the importance of collaborative efforts between the regulator and the educational sector to enable a more aware and responsible financial ecosystem in Pakistan.
The MoU was signed by Commissioner, Investor Education and International Relations (IE&IRD) SECP, Akif Saeed and Registrar Bahria University, Rear Admiral Shahid Saeed Hi (M). The Bahria University contingent included Heads of Departments of Management Sciences and Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) while senior SECP officials were also in attendance.
Under the MoU, SECP will be holding regular seminars at Bahria University on a continuing basis to impart knowledge to existing and incoming students about the basics of savings, financial planning, investing and capital markets. Students will also learn about the Jamapunji web portal that has been specially developed for imparting investor education in Pakistan. At par with investor education web portals of the advanced economies, the web portal offers comprehensive information about Pakistan’s investment products, capital markets, insurance and the non-banking financial sectors to anyone who is interested in investing in Pakistan.
During the MOU signing ceremony, in addition to sharing the Chairman SECP’s vison for Investor Education the Commissioner IE&IRD stressed on the role of SECP in imparting investor education and its benefits, especially in terms of the required change in social behavior towards savings and investments in Pakistan.
The importance of sensitizing students to a culture of financial planning and budgeting as early as possible in their educational pursuit was also discussed. The need for bilateral cooperation was highlighted especially in the area of research projects engaging the student body in analysis of financial markets. At the same time the Commissioner expressed plans for conducting Investor Education ‘train the trainer’ workshops for faculty members as well.
He welcomed the possibility of enabling such projects to enhance the skillset of students poised to contribute more effectively to their personal learning and development. He also recognized the multifold benefits of such projects which would contribute to refining the financial canvas of the economy through the educated youth of Pakistan. In addition, the Bahria University contingent was also encouraged to make use of SECP’s forum of the Institute of Capital Markets for various certifications, especially in the area of Islamic Finance.
Commemorative plaques were exchanged at the end of the MOU signing ceremony. It is hoped that by educating our university students through SECP’s Jamapunji Investor Education Program, a new generation of financially literate investors, who are aware of their rights and responsibilities can be developed. It is important to note that a well-informed investor brings discipline to the market place which in turn leads to better compliance by providers of financial products and services.