Today, BETTER FINANCE, the leading advocate for European citizens as investors, savers, shareholders, and financial services users, unveils its manifesto ahead of the upcoming European Union elections in June 2024. Entitled “Sustainable Value for Money: Reconciling Individuals, Enterprises & The Planet,” the manifesto calls for a renewed emphasis on better outcomes for consumers, long-term investment,
Transparency Task Force will hold a webinar about financial reporting, covering themes such as “Get real about financial reporting” and “The Financialisaton of Financial Reporting”. Stakeholders and experts will talk about “smoke and mirrors” and “conjuring tricks” and “insurance companies trading insolvent” and “Solvency 2 reforms”, amongst others. Addressing the inadequacies of financial reporting, the
Today the appointment of Charles-Henri d’Auvigny as a member of the Board of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) was announced. The Board is the highest governance body of the AMF, whose primary legal mission is the protection of savings. Charles-Henri d’Auvigny is President of the F2IC (Fédération des Investisseurs Individuels et des Clubs d’Investissement)
On 2 March 2023, BETTER FINANCE was one of the two organisations representing individual investors and financial users invited by the European Commission (together with 5 financial industry representatives) to address representatives of EU Member States at a “Government Expert Group on Retail Financial Services” meeting in Brussels on the Commission’s initiative of a “Retail
Faced with the risk of “regulatory capture”, six civil society co-signatories representing “small” savers and “minority” investors call on the President of the French Republic to reconsider the governance of the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) The representatives of “l’Association Éthique et Investissement”, FAIR, Deontofi, RéseauCEP, “l’Association pour le Patrimoine et l’Actionnariat Individuel” and the “Fédération
New Savers is a member of WFI World Federation of Investors, an independent, not-for-profit organization whose members are primarily national shareholders’ associations. WFI was formed to promote investor education and shareholder advocacy. WFI helps national shareholders associations and investor advocacy groups better serve their members. New Savers is an associate member of BETTER FINANCE.
For 10 years now BETTER FINANCE points to the often-poor real net returns of long-term and pension savings (see the 2022 Edition of the Real Return) across a large number of EU jurisdictions. It is getting worse, and while a couple of years of poor performances can be made up for, the same can’t be
In a late bid to address soaring inflation in the Euro area, the European Central Bank (ECB) increased interest rates for the first time in 11 years in July 2022, raising its main rate to 0 percent after eight years of negative rates, and reaching 0,75% today. Notwithstanding, Eurozone inflation hit a new record high
21 April 2022 | Financial repression poses a major problem for the protection of savers: policymakers must act and stop using savers’ cognitive biases to their detriment. Facts | On average, over the last 30 years, annual increases in consumer prices (“inflation”) have averaged +2% for the euro area[i], a historically very low level. Nonetheless,
In 2021, assets placed in regulated savings accounts increased by 4.2 billion euros, reaching 274.4 billion euros, according to data compiled from nine banks by the Belgian financial newspaper L’Echo. This year, holdings of around $300.05 billion have been reached, for the first time exceeding the EUR 300 billion threshold. The continuing growth of saving
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
⬇️ Read or download BETTER FINANCE’s Individual Investors’ Key Priorities for 2024-2029 below. ⬇️ Let’s harness the Capital Markets Union’s (CMU) potential to benefit our citizens as financial consumers, retail investors and pension savers, as well as our planet, the economy, and for future generations. This will ensure Europe’s prosperity and security in a rapidly
DG FISMA will be organising a roundtable on January 25th, 2024 at 10:00, where Aleksandra Maczynska, Acting Managing Director at BETTER FINANCE will address the panel on ‘Opportunities from a shorter settlement cycle in the EU’.
The Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) started applying in March 2021 and requires financial market participants and financial advisers to disclose at entity and product levels how they integrate sustainability risks and principal adverse impacts in their processes at both entity and product levels. It also introduces additional product disclosures for sustainable financial products making
BETTER FINANCE is pleased to announce a new collaboration with SASV (Schweizerischer Anlegerschutzverein), the Swiss Investor Protection Association, further expanding its pan-European network. SASV is dedicated to promoting transparency within the Swiss capital market and advancing investor rights. This partnership with BETTER FINANCE aims to bolster the representation of Swiss individual investors and shareholders on
Brussels, 14 December 2023 – On December 11th, the BETTER FINANCE Scientific Council convened to discuss next year’s research program and to elect a new chairperson. The Council recommended that BETTER FINANCE continues to build on the extensive research conducted by the team and expressed support for the 2024 research program, including further research on
The Lithuanian Investors Association and BETTER FINANCE, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users, are organising the annual BETTER FINANCE International Investors’ Conference, scheduled to take place in Vilnius on May 30, 2024. The conference, titled “Vilnius 2024 | Shaping the Future of Finance,” will delve into various topics encompassing European and Baltic
Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2024 | Time: 14h00 – 18h00 | Place: University Foundation, 11 Rue d’Egmont, 1000 Brussels PROGRAMME 13h30 – 14h00 | Registration & Coffee 14h00 – 14h10 | Welcome | Aleksandra Mączyńska, Acting Managing Director, BETTER FINANCE 14h10 – 14h30 | Keynote Speech | José Manuel Campa, Chair, European Banking Authority (EBA)
The “Swiss Association for the Protection of Investors” (Schweizerische Anlegerschutzverein) is committed to transparency on the Swiss capital market and the promotion and enforcement of investor rights in Switzerland. Its purpose is to protect the interests of investors with regard to financial investments and to support them in the enforcement of their corporate and economic