As an association of national member organizations, BETTER FINANCE is supported by a small professional Brussels-based team and our friends on Facebook and LinkedIn. New members and supporters are always welcome to get involved.
BETTER FINANCE was created in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to give consumers of financial services a voice.
BETTER FINANCE’s predecessor, Euroshareholders, was created in 1992 and gathered about 30 individual shareholder organizations in Europe. Euroshareholders joined BETTER FINANCE in 2012.
This constituted a very important landmark towards a fully unified representation of the interests of all financial users at the European level. Thus, BETTER FINANCE is one of the very few organizations working “in the interests of the many, and not the few”.
BETTER FINANCE Participation in EU Financial Advisory Groups
BETTER FINANCE, alongside its member organisations, actively participates in various EU financial stakeholder groups. Through this participation, BETTER FINANCE aims to ensure that European decision-making institutions protect the interests of individual investors and financial service users, rather than serve the financial industry.
By being actively involved in EU advisory groups, we aim to ensure that user perspectives are considered in key decision-making processes across multiple European institutions. Through this involvement, BETTER FINANCE and its member organisations advocate for improved financial services, consumer protection, and sustainable finance initiatives.
Below, you can find the complete list of stakeholder groups and the representatives from BETTER FINANCE and its member organisations.
European Commission
DG FISMA and DG Just | Financial Services User Group
Frederik Beckendorff, DSW – Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz
Victor Cremades Erades, Adicae – Asociación de Usuarios de Bancos, Cajas y Seguros
Alin Jacob, AURSF – Asociația Utilizatorilor Români de Servicii Financiare
Sari Lounasmeri, Pörssisäätiö Börsstiftelsen – Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion
Mariyan Nikolov, BETTER FINANCE
Kristjan Verbić, VZMD – Vseslovensko Združenje Malih Deležnikov – PanSlovenian Stakeholders’ Association
DG FISMA | Payment Systems Market Expert Group
Alin Jacob, AURSF – Asociația Utilizatorilor Români de Servicii Financiare
Fernando Martin, Adicae – Asociación de Usuarios de Bancos, Cajas y Seguros
DG FISMA | Expert Group on European Financial Data Space
Martin, Molko, BETTER FINANCE
DG Just | Consumer Policy Advisory Group
Libor Dupal, SČS – Czech Consumer Association
Aleksandra Mączyńska, BETTER FINANCE
Viktor Vodička, SČS – Czech Consumer Association
European Banking Authority
Banking Stakeholder Group
Alin Jacob, AURSF – Asociația Utilizatorilor Români de Servicii Financiare
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG)
Christiane Hölz, DSW – Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz
Sari Lounasmeri, Pörssisäätiö Börsstiftelsen – Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion
Aleksandra Mączyńska, BETTER FINANCE
Guillaume Prache, FAIDER – Fédération des Associations Indépendantes de Défense des Épargnants pour la Retraite
Secondary Markets Standing Committee Consultative Working Group (SMSC CWG)
Poul Kjær, DAF – Dansk Aktionærforening
Risk Standing Committee | Investor Trends and Research Working Group (RSC ITRWG)
Jesse Collin, Pörssisäätiö Börsstiftelsen – Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion
Hélène Lanier, 2 Degrees Investing Initiative
Sustainability Standing Committee | Consultative Working Group (SSC CWG)
Aleksandra Mączyńska, BETTER FINANCE
Risk Standing Committee | Financial Stability and Orderly Market Working Group Consultative Working Group (RSC FRWG CWG)
Sébastien Commain, BETTER FINANCE
Investment Management Standing Committee Consultative Working Group (IMSC CWG)
Jean Medernach, Investas – Association Luxembourgeoise des Investisseurs Privés
Martin Molko, BETTER FINANCE
Financial Stability and Risk Monitoring Working Group (FSRWG)
Jesse Collin, Pörssisäätiö Börsstiftelsen – Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion
Issuers Standing Committee | Consultative Working Group for Corporate Finance (ISC CWGCF)
Jella Benner-Heinacher, DSW – Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz
Jose Francisco Estevez, AEMEC – Asociación Española de Accionistas Minoritarios de Empresas Cotizadas
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG)
Victor Cremades Erades, Association of Consumers and User of banks, saving banks, financial products and insurance (ADICAE)
Aleksandra Mączyńska, BETTER FINANCE
Gertrude Anna Pils, Pekabe – Schutzverband der Pensionskassenberechtigten
Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group (IRSG)
Sébastien Commain, BETTER FINANCE
Desislav Danov, Fintech Guardian
Christian Gülich, BdV – Bund der Versicherten
Guillaume Prache, FAIDER – Fédération des Associations Indépendantes de Défense des Épargnants pour la Retraite
CPP Expert Group
Sébastien Commain, BETTER FINANCE
United Nations
Civil Society Advisory Body of the Principles for Responsible Banking
Aleksandra Mączyńska, BETTER FINANCE
Jeanne Martin, ShareAction
Legal Committee
The Legal Committee (LC) assists the BETTER FINANCE Team and Board in all legal matters related to current policy issues and activities the organisation carries out. The LC is headed by a Chair and Vice-Chairperson and comprises various BETTER FINANCE members. The LC meets twice per year.
Chair: José F. Estévez, Managing Partner of CREMADES & CALVO-SOTELO ABOGADOS
Vice-chair: Christiane Hölz, Managing Director, Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz e.V. (DSW)
Action Committee
The Action Committee (AC) is a committee of the BETTER FINANCE Board of Directors. The Committee is composed of the BETTER FINANCE President (who is chair of the committee) and Vice-Presidents. The Managing Director and Executive Director report to the Action Committee at least quarterly on the progress of the work programme and any other issues arising.
The Action Committee also takes responsibility for reviewing the draft financial statements and the external audit report of the previous fiscal year and the risks involved in the draft budget of the current year prior to the review by the Board. The Action Committee approves all expenses and projects over 5000 EUR.
Strategic Committee
The Strategic Committee (SC) is a committee composed of members of the BETTER FINANCE Board of Directors as well as members of the BETTER FINANCE Executive Team, which informs the BETTER FINANCE Board regarding long-term strategy and key strategic decisions.
The BETTER FINANCE team
As an association of national member organisations, BETTER FINANCE is supported by a small professional Brussels-based team and our friends on Facebook and LinkedIn. New members and supporters are always welcome to get involved.
Our team consists of finance professionals, lobbyists and communication specialists who carry out the core activities of BETTER FINANCE.
Managing Director,
Aleksandra Mączyńska (email)
Aleksandra Mączyńska is coming from Warsaw, Poland, where she was the Deputy Director of the International Relations and Communication Department of the Polish consumer and competition watchdog.
She studied at the Faculty of Management at the Poznan University of Economics and at the Warsaw School of Economics. She has also a vast experience in management of international projects, e.g. EU funded capacity building projects. As a Fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation Programme for the Young Executives from the Public Sector, she worked at the Division for World Bank International Monetary Fund, Debt Issues and International Finance Structure at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. She was an expert at various EU Council’s Working Parties such as the WP on Financial Services and WP on Competitiveness and Growth, as well as European Commission’s Working Groups and Advisory Committees. One of her task was also external representation and managing professional networks such as Consumer Policy Network (CPN), International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), European Competition Network (ECN) and OECD Competition Committee.
EU expert groups: Member of the Directorate-General for the Environment on the European Commission Eco-labelling Board, Member of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) Occupational pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG), Member of the United Nations Civil Society Advisory Body of the Principles for Responsible Banking (UNEPFI).
Executive Director,
Matis Joab (email)
Matis Joab joined BETTER FINANCE at the beginning of 2020 as Finance and Administration Officer, before being promoted to Executive Director in July 2023. Since joining, he has been in charge of finances, administration and member relations, as well as representing BETTER FINANCE at the European Financial Reporting Expert Group and contributing to BETTER FINANCE’s research work in relation to pension savings and investor rights.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics and a Master’s degree in Management from Tallinn University of Technology. After working 6 years in the private sector in Estonia, mostly in the commercial real estate sector, he moved to Brussels to become the Financial Director of the European Students’ Forum (AEGEE).
In addition to his knowledge of finance and economics, Matis has a deep interest in geopolitics. He is bilingual in Estonian and English and has a decent grasp of both French and German.
Director of Communications
Arnaud Houdmont (email)
Arnaud Houdmont joined the team at BETTER FINANCE following a varied and multi-facetted career in the world of communication, press relations and research at the heart of Europe. During this time he worked closely with policy makers from the European Commission, the European Parliament and private sector stakeholders on topics such as youth employment, entrepreneurship, health policy, sustainability and innovation. Prior to this he earned a master’s degree in Global Communication from Goldsmith’s College (University of London) and a bachelor’s degree in International relations from Sussex University.
His studies and career have given him a critical and analytical insight in a range of issues, as well as a profound knowledge of the political economy, media and the European institutions. On a personal level Arnaud is fascinated by all aspects relating to sustainable development and political economy.
At BETTER FINANCE, Arnaud is responsible for all communications activities and the continued development of an inclusive communication strategy aimed at reaching all interested parties and stakeholders. He speaks fluent Dutch, English and French and has a very good working level of Spanish.
Project and Advocacy Officer,
Emma Traoret is a Projects and Advocacy Officer at BETTER FINANCE. Her role is to support the implementation and development of the organisation’s projects and advocacy initiatives, particularly in Sustainable Finance.
In her previous roles, she worked for EU membership-based organisations in health, education and gender equality policies, and interned at the Council of Europe and the European Economic and Social Committee, focusing on corruption, and economic and social affairs. Emma has volunteered for local organisations in Brussels and for the Red Cross in Portugal, managing and supporting projects for the social inclusion and economic empowerment of vulnerable populations. She has also been a Youth Ambassador for the ONE Campaign, advocating for the EU to have a crucial role in addressing issues like climate change.
Emma studied Economics and International Relations, in France and Ecuador and holds two Masters in Economic Intelligence and Microfinance. She speaks French, English, and Spanish fluently and has some understanding of Portuguese. She holds nationality from France, the United Kingdom and Burkina Faso.
Research & Policy Officer,
Sébastien Commain (email)
Sébastien Commain is Research and Policy Officer at BETTER FINANCE. He specialises in Financial Services Regulation and Capital Markets Research.
Sébastien holds a Masters’ degree in European affairs from Sciences Po Paris and a Ph.D. in political science from the Université du Luxembourg. Before joining BETTER FINANCE, Sébastien worked as an interest representative, a role in which he initially developed a strong taste for financial regulation issues as well as advocacy and policy analysis skills. He then turned to academia, working at the College of Europe for several years, before undertaking a Ph.D. on the influence of financial interest groups in EU and international policy making and the reform of bank capital requirements.
Research & Outreach Officer,
Martin Molko (email)
Martin Molko is Research and Outreach Officer at BETTER FINANCE, where he supports the research team, monitors policy issues and carries out dissemination tasks for our activities. He works on various policy areas, with a focus on Digital Finance (FinTech trends, Data-access, AI), Shareholder Rights, Financial Literacy and Inclusion. Within the BETTER FINANCE team, he is also involved in several topics related to the EU Capital Markets Union (CMU) such as MiFID/R II market structure and listing rules.
Martin obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Information and Communication from the University of Nice and pursued a specialised Master’s Degree in European Studies at the Free University of Brussels (ULB). He has also participated in summer university programmes related to European multilateralism and economic development. As part of his past professional experience, he has consolidated his communication and reporting skills, including within a European news agency, where he developed a strong interest in finance. He has lived in Belgium, France and Germany, where he gained experience in consulting and held project management and editorial positions in the academic field
Research & Policy Officer,
Mariyan Nikolov (email)
Mariyan Nikolov is a Research & Policy Officer at Better Finance, where he specializes in the areas of Sustainable and Digital Finance, Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance. He is also involved with the coordination of relevant policy developments with member organizations and leads on consultation responses to the EU on broader sustainability dossiers.
In his previous roles – with government representation, EU institutions and the private sector – he led on multiple research projects encompassing sustainable finance initiatives and comparative regulatory developments, carbon pricing and trading, as well as consultations with international financial institutions.
Mariyan has an integrated MSci in International Relations and Global Issues from the University of Nottingham, UK whereby he also completed various study and volunteering projects across China, India and Malaysia in the fields of sustainability. He is a native Bulgarian, Turkish, English speaker and has some understanding of other languages including Russian, French and Dutch.
Senior Advisor,
Guillaume Prache (email)
Guillaume Prache is Senior Advisor of BETTER FINANCE. Following nearly 15 years creating and then developing BETTER FINANCE as Managing Director up to June 2023, he focusses on policy and research in his new role as Senior Advisor. He is also one of the experts representing financial services users at EU-level, notably before the European Commission (lastly as a member of the HLF CMU – High-Level Forum on Capital Markets Union), before the European Securities & Markets Authority as a member and former chair of the ESMA Securities & Markets Stakeholder Group, and before the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority as a member of the EIOPA IRSG – Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group (and formerly as a member of the EIOPA Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group and of the EBA Banking Stakeholder Group). He is also an expert for the French financial regulator AMF. And he is the President of FAIDER, the largest individual investor organization in France, and a member of BETTER FINANCE.
He started as a magistrate at the French Court of Auditors and has an extended and international experience in financial matters, notably as Chief Financial Officer of US-based Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., a “Fortune 500” publicly listed pharmaceutical company (today Sanofi) from 1997 to 2000, and then as Managing Director of the European subsidiary of the Vanguard Group, Inc., a global leader in asset management, from 2000 to 2006.
He has taught asset management for the CIWM (Certified International Wealth Manager) program and wrote two books and various articles on economics and finance.
Communications Assistant
Rina Zhubi (email)
Rina Zhubi is a Communications Assistant at BETTER FINANCE, where she pushes forward the organisation’s online communication. As part of the communication team, Rina has a multifaced role, preparing communication materials, sending email campaigns, and managing online channels including the website and social media.
Rina first moved to Brussels to finish her master’s in Media and Journalism in Europe from Vrije Universiteit Brussel from which she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Prior to that, she worked in various communication and marketing roles, during which she launched numerous campaigns, wrote video scripts and articles, prepared visuals, and managed social media. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Management and Economics from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
On a personal level, Rina likes to take on creative projects such as writing poetry or making collages. She holds dual nationality from Kosovo and Croatia.
President
Jella Benner-Heinacher
Jella Benner-Heinacher is the chief managing director (deputy) of Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW), the leading shareholder association in Germany. Ms Benner-Heinacher, a German attorney, having studied in France, Switzerland and the U.S., is primarily responsible for international activities as Vice-President of BETTER FINANCE in Brussels. Ms Benner-Heinacher is also chairwoman of the European Corporate Governance Services (ECGS) in London, and a member of the Stock Exchange Board in Düsseldorf. Furthermore she is responsible for Corporate Governance issues as well as for DSW’s participation in the legislation procedure at both national and international level.
Vice-President
Jean Berthon
Jean Berthon is BETTER FINANCE Vice-President and since January 2009 President of FAIDER (Fédération des Associations Indépendantes des Epargnants pour la Retraite), a French federation which gathers 14 associations in France, and represents more than 1 million investors and life policy holders. He is a financial expert for the European commission serving as Alternate of the Financial Services User Group. He is also expert in several committees and working groups of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the French Financial Markets regulator (AMF) and the French Banking, Insurance and Pensions regulator (ACP). He is currently serving as Officer in the Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Européen, the European organization of actuaries.
He started his career as an actuary at Caisse des dépôts et Consignations in France, and worked in several French Banks, most recently as Chairman and Managing Director of Demachy-Worms & Cie Gestion an important French leader in quantitative and Institutional portfolio management. Mr Berthon founded and is a Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of la Fondation du Risque, a French non-profit Foundation which aims to finance and develop academic and business oriented research in risks. La Fondation du Risque currently manages six chairs endowed by major French banks and insurance companies.
Vice-President
Christian Gülich
Christian Gülich is the Senior EU Policy Officer of the German Association of Insured (BdV) since 2014. He was born in 1957 in Worms (near Frankfurt).
He studied sociology at the University of Bielefeld and Université d’Aix-en-Provence. For research he went to Paris and finished his Ph.D on French Solidarism in 1988. After the German Re-unification he was in Potsdam in 1992/93 for an additional professional training as scientific documentalist.
In 1996 he went to Hamburg starting at BdV as media documentalist, then continiously enlarging his responsibilities (mainly media resonance analysis, advice on private retirement). Having established contacts to Better Finance in 2014, he is responsible for all BdV written and oral comments on draft legal acts or regulations on the European level (mainly for EIOPA and the other ESAs). As EU Policy Officer he represents BdV at EIOPA Occupational Stakeholder Group (OPSG) since 2018, in 2019/2020 he was appointed a member of EIOPA IRSG as well.
Chairman of IVA
Florian Beckermann
Member of ADICAE
María Begoña Fernández Planelles
Board Member at UKSA
Helen Gibbons
President of AURSF
Alin Iacob
President of Helinas
John Kyriakopoulos
Chief Legal Officer of Aktiespararna
Sverre Linton
Board Member of DAF
Niels Mengel
President of VZMD
Kristjan Verbic
Non-Executive Director of ShareSoc
Mark Northway (observing member)
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*Associate Member (without voting rights)
How to become a Member
BETTER FINANCE acts as an independent financial expertise and advocacy center to the direct benefit of all European citizens as financial services users.
BETTER FINANCE aims to:
— Conduct research
— Promote training
— Provide relevant information and better protection for end-users of financial services
— Promote market integrity and transparency for retail investors and non-industry stakeholders
— Establish better governance of financial supervision for all European citizens.
BETTER FINANCE develops research-based advocacy positions on financial issues, with input from its member organisations, to promote the interests of consumers.
The BETTER FINANCE Scientific Council consists of highly skilled and experienced independent academics who help us deliver high quality research for financial services users, other stakeholders and policy-makers.
The Scientific Council consists of the following members (alphabetic order):
- Prof. Barbara Alemanni (Italy)
- Prof. Niamh Moloney (Ireland)
- Prof. Dr. Jan Sebo (Slovakia)
- Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Veil (Germany)
- Mr. Nicolas Véron (USA/EU)
Chair: Prof. Pierre-Henri Conac (Luxembourg)
The Scientific Council responds to the need for more independent research in financial services to provide a sound and unbiased basis for financial policy recommendations. This is reflected in BETTER FINANCE’s Scientific Council, as many of its members also have extended experience in EU advisory bodies on financial services policy.
BETTER FINANCE Scientific Council members (as of January 2024)
| Niamh Moloney is Professor of Financial Markets Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She specialises in financial market regulation and financial consumer protection. Niamh Moloney has published a large number of articles in this area, including a book (How to Protect Investors: Lessons from the EU and the UK, Cambridge University Press) on financial consumer protection. She was a member and then Chair of the Central Bank of Ireland’s Consumer Advisory Group; a member of ESMA’s Stakeholder Group; and a member of the UK FCA’s Consumer Panel. Currently, she is also a member of the board of the Central Bank of Ireland.
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| Jan Sebo is associate professor and researcher at the Matej Bel University (Faculty of Economics) in Slovakia, with a specialisation in Pension Finance, Pension Economics, Investing and Savings, Public Finance and Regulatory Policy. He leads the research team at the Orange Envelope platform, which provides automated independent personal finance advise and pension tracking services across all pension schemes in Slovakia. He is a former member of the Occupational Pension Stakeholders Group (OPSG) at EIOPA and a present member of the Financial Services User Group (FSUG) at the European Commission.
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| Pierre-Henri Conac is a Professor of Financial Market Law at the University of Luxembourg where he founded the Master in European Banking and International Financial Law (LL.M.). He is also Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg and recently been appointed Acting Head of the Institute’s two research departments. He authored securities market regulations for the French Commission (COB) and the US SEC. Conac played a key role in shaping EU and national policies on company law, banking, and financial law. Like Rüdiger Veil, he is a former member in the category of Independent top-ranking academic of the Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group (SMSG), which advises the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
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| Nicolas Véron is a senior fellow at Bruegel in Brussels and at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC. His research is mostly focused on financial systems and financial reform around the world, including global financial regulatory initiatives and current developments in the European Union. Nicolas Véron has authored and co-authored numerous policy papers on matters that include banking supervision and crisis management, financial reporting, the Eurozone policy framework, and economic nationalism. He participated as an expert in committees of the European Parliament, national parliaments in EU member states, and US Congress. In addition, Nicolas Véron is an independent non-executive board member at the Trade Repository arm of DTCC.
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| Rüdiger Veil holds the Chair for Civil Law and Business Law at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. His main research areas are European corporate law and capital markets law. Rüdiger Veil has published numerous books, inter alia on “European Capital Markets Law”, and articles in top-ranked journals, particularly from a comparative perspective. Since 2012, he has been a member of an academic working group advising the German Federal Ministry of Finance with regard to EU financial market reforms. In addition, Rüdiger Veil has been a member of the ESMA Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group (SMSG); from 2016-2018, he was Chair of the Group. Rüdiger Veil has acted as an expert for the German, European, Chinese and Russian parliament.
Barbara Alemanni is a Professor of Financial Markets and Institutions in the Department of Economics at the University of Genoa. Additionally, she serves as an Affiliate Professor of Banking and Insurance at SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan. She imparts her knowledge in both Bachelor and Master courses covering Investments, Financial Markets, and Behavioural Finance. Barbara holds an MSc in Finance from City University in London and a BA in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan. Her primary research interests include the micro and macro structure of financial markets, investor protection, behavioural economics, and financial innovation. She has disseminated her research through publications in both domestic and international scholarly journals and academic books. |