Financial policy regarding the categorization of individual investors in Russia and the area of protecting their interests

Abstract

Development of modern economy and financial market is impossible without involving the mass investor in investment processes. This is the goal of the state's financial market policy. The need to preserve savings in the face of a reduction in the key rate, and therefore a decrease in interest, encourages individuals to invest more actively in securities. New investors come to the securities market, but they are not always able to adequately assess the risk of investing in securities. To reduce the risks of individual investors, there is used a categorization mechanism, which divides them into qualified and unqualified investors, but requires improvement. Based on the analysis, it is proved that the categorization of investors cannot be limited by the regulation of the criteria for their differentiation and requires specifying the areas of protection of the interests and rights of investors. The study is based on the pragmatic Solow-Williamson methodology and a systematic approach. The indicators of investor activity and indicators characterizing the degree of investor protection in the Russian securities market are analyzed. As a result, the problems of modern categorization of individual investors in the Russian Federation are identified and analyzed. The main areas of protection of investors' interests and rights are identified, including: the choice of a financial instrument; ensuring ownership of financial instruments; transactions with financial instruments; protection from misseling; disclosure of information by issuers and professional subjects of financial markets; illegal actions of professional subjects of financial markets in relation to financial risks and protection tools. Areas of protection of investors' interests and rights are correlated with risks and protection tools. There were defined basic principles of categorization of investors-individuals.