Bank of Russia approves changes to non-qualified investors’ testing

The amended procedure provides for the randomisation of questions about financial instruments. As before, investors will be invited to answer four questions, but they will be chosen from eight questions in a random manner so that each combination includes tasks of different complexity levels.

This will decrease the chances for investors to pass the test using the brute force method and, accordingly, the probability of purchasing a complex financial instrument by investors without an adequate assessment of their knowledge and accepted risks.

The amendments were included in the updated version of the basic standard to protect the rights and interests of brokers’ clients prepared with the engagement of the self‑regulatory organisations National Association of Securities Market Participants and National Finance Association. These changes will become effective on 1 September 2022.