2024 Global Retail Investor Outlook 2025

From investment to divestment, each decision has an impact on overall portfolio performance and presents an opportunity to design products and education interventions customized to investor segment and goals CASE STUDY 5 Product design guidelines to optimize retail decision-making To enhance product suitability for retail investors, Australia’s market authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), introduced the Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) framework in 2021. This regulation governs asset management across all product life cycle phases, requiring clear target market disclosures, strict marketing standards, and ongoing distribution oversight. The DDO sets a high standard for proactive investor protection, complemented by ASIC’s restrictions on high-risk products like binary options.CASE STUDY 6 Investor protection with a focus on performance Investor protection measures help mitigate risks from financial literacy gaps and complex products. The European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) 2023-2028 strategy includes disclosure duties, suitability standards, cooling-off periods and leverage caps. While limiting access curbs speculation, ESMA’s European long-term investment fund (ELTIF) 2.0 shows that moderated access to private markets can support balanced portfolios. 2024 Global Retail Investor Outlook 47