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BETTER FINANCE welcomes and supports EIOPA’s ongoing work on a supervisory toolkit to assess the value for money offered by unit linked and hybrid insurance products. Since its creation, BETTER FINANCE has been fighting for regulatory and supervisory action to improve the returns of long-term and pension saving products. As BETTER FINANCE research shows, high

BETTER FINANCE strongly supports the intention to provide consumers with a clear and comprehensive view of their insurance policies, simplifying understanding and enabling easy product comparisons. BETTER FINANCE, however, has long called authorities themselves to centralize insurance/investment product information in order to enable (EU-wide) comparability tools. More generally, we also warn against the privatisation of

EIOPA consulted on the review of IORP II Directive, which governs occupational pension schemes in the EU. BETTER FINANCE’s response to the consultation focuses on protecting the interests of pension scheme participants. BETTER FINANCE proposes changing the terms “beneficiaries” and “members” to “participants” to accurately reflect the stakeholders involved. BETTER FINANCE also highlights the lack

The European Commission published a legislative proposal for a regulation on European green bonds, which is supposed to become the high quality voluntary European Green Bond Standard. Its intention is to use the potential of the single market for achieving the EU’s climate and environmental goals in a more efficient way.

It is part of an initiative first mooted in the Commission’s September 2020 Capital Markets Union Action Plan and designed, among other things, to “increase consumer participation in capital markets.” The the level of retail investor participation in EU capital markets remains very low. The strategy is aimed to ease difficulties for retail investors in

Explanations A differential pricing mechanism in insurance contracts describes a practice by which an insurance company adapts the cost or price of the product/service on considerations other than the expected risk premia or estimated expenses. Put simply, prices will reflect how proactive or passive a client is (shop around or not) rather than the risk

BETTER FINANCE welcomes the fourth report on insurance and pension products’ costs and past performance published by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). For the 2022 report, EIOPA received information on more than 760 insurance-based investment products (IBIPs). The research notes that despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, “both insurance and

INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATIONS (for non-professional readers) European Union (EU) authorities aim to improve the conditions of saving and investing in capital markets for EU households through several regulatory and supervisory actions. Currently, most of these initiatives stem from the recommendations of the High-Level Forum on the Future of the Capital Markets Union,[1] on which the European

BETTER FINANCE welcomes the establishment of Pension Tracking Systems (PTS) in each EU Member State as a pivotal step towards achieving pension adequacy. EU citizens, being able to easily monitor the status of their pensions pot, will be more aware and prone to actively engage with their retirement savings plans. As such, it will constitute

From 15 June to 17 June, BETTER FINANCE, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users, and its Member Organisations gathered in Athens for their General Assembly and International Investors’ Conference, co-organised with Helinas, the Hellenic Investors Association. The meetings in Greece were also the occasion to elect a new Board. BETTER FINANCE is

BETTER FINANCE is pleased to announce that Jella Benner-Heinacher, the Deputy Chief Director of the Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW) and BETTER FINANCE Vice-President, was appointed to the Board of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) as an observer with speaking rights to be the only representative of EU citizens as “retail” investors. EFRAG

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published the new list of members of its Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG). The selected individuals begin a four-year term on 1 July 2020. The SMSG will provide ESMA with advice on its policy work and must be consulted on technical

For years now BETTER FINANCE has been calling for Capital Markets to be returned to their natural participants: European households and EU Citizens as individual long-term savers and investors. Robo-advice could pave the way for their return, provided the platforms abide by EU investor protection rules and comply with basic requirements such as fair, transparent,

On 17 July EIOPA, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority announced the new composition of its two “stakeholder groups”: the Insurance and Reinsurance one (IRSG), and the Occupational Pensions one (OPSG). BETTER FINANCE thanks and congratulates EIOPA for successfully “seeking to strengthen representation of consumers”, especially in the OPSG where up to now BETTER

On 17 July EIOPA, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority announced the new composition of its two “stakeholder groups”: the Insurance and Reinsurance one (IRSG), and the Occupational Pensions one (OPSG). BETTER FINANCE thanks and congratulates EIOPA for successfully “seeking to strengthen representation of consumers”, especially in the OPSG where up to now BETTER

Today the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) appointed their new Securities Markets Stakeholders Group members. Their announcement follows that of the other European Supervisory Authorities: the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). EuroFinUse now counts with 3 representatives in the two European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s

After a confusing few weeks, Monday`s Eurogroup meeting announced that Spain`s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos is set to be the new vice-president of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board (ECB EB). Following a face-off with Irish central banker Phillip Lane and intense lobbying by Spanish PM Rajoy, Mr Lane`s pull-out of the race on

During the final trialogue discussions between the Lithuanian EU Council presidency and the European Parliament on December 17, an agreement was finally reached pushing through EU audit reform. Now subject to ratification by 28 European Union member states later this week, the last minute deal will force big companies to change auditors regularly as member

On Monday 21 October, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced the renewal of its Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG). According to the EBA, this group has the role of facilitating consultation and dialogue with stakeholders in all the areas relevant to the tasks of the EBA. EBA is an independent European Union Authority which works to

The European Commission today published its long-awaited proposal on the digital euro, marking a significant milestone in the digitalisation of public money. The document sets the stage for a democratic debate, as the project moves from its investigation phase by the European Central Bank to the chambers of the European Parliament and the Council. Cash,

Although SPACs – Special Purpose Acquisition Companies – have existed for quite some time, their sudden popularity over the last few years has drawn the attention of investors and regulators alike. In their latest joint report, BETTER FINANCE and CFA Institute shed light on the debate around SPACs also known as “blank cheques companies”. Based

On 1 July 2020, Germany took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Croatia and published the presidency programme for the next six months, including several aspects related to financial services, highlighting “a sustainable financial market architecture, stable financial policy and fair taxation”. With regards to taxation the German Presidency is

The study by Morningstar found that out of 1,496 UK-listed open-ended funds, around 108 are run by managers named David or Dave, the equivalent to 7.2% of funds, while there are only 105 women overall managing funds. According to Emma Morgan, portfolio manager at Morningstar, “It’s a great shame that the industry is missing out

Brussels, 12 November 2019 – More than five years ago, the EU laid the foundation for a Capital Markets Union that would, at last, create the single market for capital foreseen 62 years ago in the Treaty of Rome, develop capital market funding for the real economy and provide better returns for EU citizens as

CONSOB, the Italian financial watchdog, invited me on November 8, 2019 to comment on their very interesting 2019 report on the behavior of Italian savers. Several findings were indeed thought-provoking. For example, 63% of Italian savers are loss averse according to the Report. However, their top choice (and more and more so) is bank accounts.

New research by BETTER FINANCE on the Correlation between Costs and Performance of EU Retail Equity Funds without a doubt establishes a negative correlation between returns and fees Brussels, 20 June 2019 – Common knowledge has it that if you want to beat the market, you need to turn to highly active management … at

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) received 1,335 notifications of inaccurate reporting on the transaction under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II) in 2018. The figures have been published by regulatory consultancy Bovill, and only covered those companies that were aware that they breached the new reporting requirements and thus reported themselves to the

Despite the attempts to channel equity trading to the “lit” markets, more than half of European stock is bought and sold through “dark pools”. BETTER FINANCE has long criticised its negative effects on transparency and pricing, promoting the need to restore confidence in financial markets. Attempts to regulate the financial markets and instruments have already

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) will analyse the exposure of European pension funds’ to “ESG” factors in next year’s stress test of the sector, a spokeswoman has confirmed. She added that the analysis will involve a qualitative assessment of how occupational pension funds incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors into

The Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) compromise currently on the table for a European Parliament vote blatantly disregards the interests of retail investors and the establishment of a competitive Capital Markets Union (CMU). Should Ms Yon-Courtin’s proposed compromise be approved by the ECON committee on 20th March and subsequently put to a plenary vote one month

BETTER FINANCE endorses the FSUG’s call for improved ‘Value for Money’ in retail investments. The focus is on enhancing the effectiveness of packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) to contribute significantly to investors’ financial well-being. The FSUG emphasises the responsibility of product manufacturers to design products that boost investors’ financial wealth and urges supervisors

The Financial Services User Group (FSUG) welcomes the ongoing legislative and supervisory works aiming to improve the ‘Value for Money’ that retail investors obtain from their packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs). The FSUG argues that ensuring retail investment products are effectively designed to increase the financial wealth of investors should be amongst the

On November 28th BETTER FINANCE and FESE will be hosting a webinar on ‘Enhancing Retail Participation in Capital Markets Through Pension Products’. As part of European Retirement Week 2023, the webinar will assess the Retail Investment Strategy’s impact on pension investments in capital markets and explore the reasons behind Europeans’ limited investment in pension products.

On 19 October 2023, BETTER FINANCE together with BEUC, Finance Watch and WWF, published a public letter addressed to Ms. Yon-Courtin and to the European Parliament’s shadow rapporteurs, expressing disappointment in the Omnibus and PRIIPs draft report in the Retail Investment Strategy file. ➡ BETTER FINANCE Position Paper on the Retail Investment Strategy ➡ BETTER

BETTER FINANCE welcomes the proposal for the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) put forward by the European Commission (EC) on 24 May 2023. We fully share the goals that the EC pursues with this initiative ‘rules that are coherent across legal instruments’; ‘adequate protection’‘bias-free advice and fair treatment’; ‘open markets with a variety of competitive and

BETTER FINANCE, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users, has published a position paper on the European Commission’s Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) proposals. The organisation fully supports the EC’s RIS objectives: consistent rules, enhanced retail investor protection, unbiased advice, competitive financial markets, and transparent and comparable product information. The RIS constitutes a once-in-a-lifetime

  The roundtable on the distribution of retail financial products will bring together representatives of key industry and consumer stakeholders. This meeting aims to launch a reflection on issues related to the retail investments market’s current practices, as well as relevant technological and societal trends. ‘Interventions by stakeholders’ will take place between 9:10 – 10:00