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Your subscription was successful. Enjoy your BETTER FINANCE content! Sincerely, The BETTER FINANCE Team Browse our latest Press Releases Delve into our latest Research Reports Consult our Policy Positions and Consultations Peruse our Newsletters' Archive Check our News coverage and articles Check out our Newsletter page (read and/or subscribe)

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As previously covered by BETTER FINANCE, shareholder activism is experiencing a new spring. As opposed to the aggressive nature of their forefathers, today`s activists put faith in cooperation and dialogue rather than conflict and public battles. While activist investors have traditionally been larger Wall Street heavyweights, it seems that this new emerging era of activism

The EC announced their nomination of Mr Boštjan Jazbec as a member to the Single Resolution Board (SRB) in a press release on Wednesday 14th of February. Though Mr Jazbec has proven experience with monetary policy issues, for instance as the Governor of the Bank of Slovenia, critics cite his involvement in the Slovenian “institutional

As discussed in January, the new legislative package tackling Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID II/ MiFIR and the delegated acts) changed the landscape with view on the Capital Markets Union. While few CMU participants are fully in line with the new regulatory prerequisites, others struggle to comply and manage the additional costs ‘running to the

The negotiations on the future treaty between the EU and UK met with a proposal from the City of London, Europe’s financial sector capital, to ‘allow cross-border trade in financial services’. The negotiation team lead by Michel Barnier on the EU-side refused this proposal, which adds further turmoil to the City as many corporations have

The newly applicable provisions of MiFID II on reporting duties also concern financial transactions of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Considering that the majority of initial ETF trading (primary dealing or creation) takes place directly between market makers (such as credit institutions – buyers) and authorised participants (distributors), the upstream market for ETFs is made through over-the-counter

On the day it becomes directly applicable, the long-awaited revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) gives birth to a new and healthier environment for financial services and instruments across the Single Market. Although only 11 out of 28 Member States have implemented the Directive so far, the past two years have been a

The lack of collective redress in Europe remains an issue for the European finance industry, especially from the perspective of investors and shareholders (see BETTER FINANCE paper here). Given that procedural law falls under the exclusive competence of Member States (still), there is no harmonising legislation fostering cross-border class-action lawsuits in Europe. As became apparent

Characterised by low interest rates for credit and low yields for debt instruments, the past year as well as 2016 were not very fruitful for institutional investors (especially insurers and credit institutions), reason for which professionals who offer financial products have been searching for financial assets with higher returns (see article here). A recent study

BETTER FINANCE supports the recent proposal put forth by the European Commission, aimed at simplifying the reimbursement of cross-border withholding taxes. Guillaume Prache, the Managing Director of BETTER FINANCE, expresses cautious optimism and states, “This proposal, which was swiftly introduced following a joint study conducted by BETTER FINANCE and DSW – Germany’s leading association for

Among other topics, the latest newsletter of POLITICO discusses the clash of fund managers and consumer groups on fees and responses to ESMA’s Consultation Paper on Guidelines on Performance Fees in UCITS. BETTER FINANCE, as a representative of financial services users, was quoted in the newsletter: “It falls under the fair treatment of investors to penalize the

New Financial published its latest report measuring female representation on boards and executive committees at more than 200 companies and institutions across the European capital markets. With so much focus on gender diversity on the boards of big listed companies, New Financial wanted to drill down into diversity across the financial markets by comparing 11

The EU’s legislation in the fields of climate, energy and economic activities linked to greenhouse gas emissions needs to also take into consideration latest technological advancements and the way climate action can be incentivised for all.

Brussels, 13 October 2023 — BETTER FINANCE, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users, in collaboration with IVA – the Austrian Shareholder Association, is pleased to announce that the International Investors Conference at the Vienna Stock Exchange and Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) got off to a great start this morning. Keynote Carmine di Noia, Director

Through their joint pilot survey, the European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (the ESAs) aimed to assess and monitor market developments and trends in innovative financial services in the three sectors. Through their joint pilot exercise, the ESAs gathered information about the latest innovation trends,

BETTER FINANCE welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to set clear policy measures regarding climate targets beyond 2030, which ultimately can support the objective of 2050 climate neutrality goal and its realisation. BETTER FINANCE’s core expertise mainly involves defending the interests of European citizens as financial services users, and we are therefore cognisant of the benefits

BETTER FINANCE is excited to announce the launch of its much-needed “Gateway to Responsible Investing”, responding to the lack of independent, transparent and clear information on how to invest in a climate-aligned and sustainable way! Besides providing educational information on matters such as ESG, impact investing and greenwashing, the gateway also provides tools for first-time

On Wednesday 14 December, the United Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed Regulation Best Execution, seeking to establish a best execution regulatory framework mandating that securities brokers and dealers execute deals at the best price available. BETTER FINANCE, which itself has been highlighting the need for more transparent and fair European stock markets, applauds the

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Definitions are constantly evolving around the key concepts of sustainability but jurisdictions, regulators, and international organisations around the globe agree on the common elements of each of the below.

For its March Newsletter, DG FISMA (the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union) interviewed Alin Iacob, the new chairman of the Financial Services User Group (FSUG), and Board Member of BETTER FINANCE. Alin Iacob is also the chairman of the Association of Romanian Financial Users (AURSF). In the interview,

The European federation of retail investors, BETTER FINANCE, has criticised the new composition of stakeholder groups at the European supervisory authorities, branding it “a step backwards with regard to a balanced representation between industry and consumers in EU financial rulemaking.” Read the full article here.

The crisis- and Brexit-laden context have given the project new arguments to be on the European agenda. […] This is the second try for the Capital Markets Union (CMU). Europe had launched this project five years ago with the idea of supporting the financing of the economy via the capital markets. […] There is now

In a letter to European commissioners, BETTER FINANCE said that investors would have to wait another full general meeting period to be able to exercise their voting right if SRD II’s implementation is postponed. As a number of stakeholders are demanding the commission to postpone the implementation of the Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II),

With a global pension gap forecasted to mushroom to $400 trillion by 2050 and income replacement rates decreasing, EU citizens are increasingly asked to rely on personal pension products to complement the insufficient government-sponsored mandatory and occupational pension plans. Unfortunately, independent research by BETTER FINANCE into the real net returns of European pension savings has

Recent Newsletters EU Financial Policy Insights | 15 December 2023 EU Financial Policy Insights | 03 October 2023 EU Financial Policy Insights | 25 July 2023 EU Financial Policy Insights | 26 June 2023 EU Financial Policy Insights | 3 March 2023 EU Financial Policy Insights | 29th of December 2022 EU Financial Policy Insights

Whereas the UK was widely considered the leading force of the Capital Market Union (CMU), Theresa May’s speech on (date)… seems to announce serious turbulence ahead. Launched in 2014, the CMU intends to reduce barriers to cross-border investing and promote bond markets instead of bank lending.    Theresa May declared that there will be no

The European Union’s securities regulator is looking at what action to take after finding that up to 15 percent of actively managed funds may be misleading investors by covertly tracking a stock index. Indeed consumers have long suspected some of the funds that charge them higher fees to scour the market for the best picks

BETTER FINANCE was mentioned in several articles covering the story by Reuters on Closet Index Trackers. Reuters & Yahoo Finance: "EU watchdog considers action against "closet" tracker funds." Closet Indexing Finally on ESMA’s Radar? For years now the active management of investment fund portfolios has suffered negative criticism with financial headlines relegating the failing practice

Ziarul Financiar, a Romanian newspaper, reports on the private pension situation in Romania. Romanians are likely to on average accumulate €17,000 during their lifetime through private pension plans. This amount would last them for just 4 years into retirement, reports the newspaper. This news comes despite the fact that Romanian private pensions had some of

For a third year in a row, a study by BETTER FINANCE and DSW still points to considerable barriers to shareholder engagement as the Shareholder Rights Directive II fails to deliver for European cross-border shareholders, seriously hampering long-term investor engagement and sustainable corporate governance. Following the entry into force of the Shareholder Rights Directive II

There are differences between intermediated or “packaged” investments (life insurance, funds, savings plans, etc.) and direct investments in capital markets (ETFs, bonds, shares). Several independent studies indicate that the higher the annual fees, the lower the average medium and long-term returns of investment products. Annual fees for intermediated products are much higher than those for direct savings in securities.   The impact of these fees in France has been especially significant for certain insurance

Brussels, 4 June 2020 – On 29 April 2020 the heads of European and Member State organisations representing individual shareholders across Europe sent an Open Letter to the European Commission (EC) opposing lobbying attempts led by powerful financial intermediaries to postpone the implementation of the Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II). Their call has now

The European Central Bank and the central banks of the Eurozone launched a common European platform for the settlement of securities transactions called Target2-Securities (T2S). Due to integration of central securities depositories into a common European platform, the Central Securities Clearing Corporation (KDD) in Slovenia is terminating all accounts that do not have a designated

ShareSoc welcomes the research paper recently published by the British Department for Business, Innovation & Skills entitled "Exploring the Intermediated Shareholding Model." The research paper shows that private investors often do not know what their rights are when their shares are lodged  in nominee accounts or  other alternative ways of holding shares. Unfortunately shareholders often

On February 26, the European Parliament called for full disclosure of fees and costs of insurance products by voting the amendments to a draft update of EU rules on the information and advice offered by the insurance sector. MEPs agreed on the amendments to the insurance mediation directive to strengthen the rights of consumers when

A documentary about the fund industry called “How to Win the Loser’s Game” was produced and released last year. The author, Robin Powell, repeatedly quotes the findings of our report and shares how this document transformed his life: "I’ve never been called a Communist before, and certainly not a Jihadist. But in the last few

Earlier this week, President Obama announced a new initiative to end conflicts of interests and minimize hidden fees in connection with retirement savings. This is the White House response to the US retirement crisis with too few people saving for retirement and too many saving not enough. Currently, US citizens have hard time navigating through

La Carta de la Bolsa, a Spanish financial blog written by the journalist Moises Romero, draws attention to "Pension Savings: The Real Return", BETTER FINANCE’s report on the gloomy status of private pensions in Europe.  Our analysis is also mentioned in an article in the Spanish and Portuguese versions of FundsPeople. As illustrated in the report, both articles clearly show that

"Barriers to Shareholder Engagement – A report on cross-border voting" was mentioned in a Spanish article in El Pais. The article focus on shareholders’ participation in companies in Spain and the barriers investors have to face which continue to make cross-border voting a challenge: "Costs, logistics or different requirements and national standards make it particularly difficult for individual shareholders