For a long time considered a model of German success story, the online payment company Wirecard collapsed in 2020 in a dramatic and scandalous bankruptcy, tarnishing the reputation of the political class and financial control authorities. This Thursday, the trial of the former president of Wirecard and two other managers opens in Munich. An alleged
An analysis by ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, has shed light on the costs and performance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) funds compared to non-ESG funds. The findings reveal that ESG funds have lower costs and better performance, even after considering factors such as portfolio composition. Understanding the drivers behind these differences
Monika Dutt, director of European passive strategies research at Morningstar said: “We spend so much time talking about ESG in Europe, but the system hinders investor outcomes,” ETFs are seen by many industry observers as an ideal retail product, not only because they typically charge lower fees than their mutual fund counterparts, but also because
European ETFs closed the fourth quarter of 2020 by passing the €1 trillion milestone, with ESG-focused funds drawing the lion’s share of net inflows. Jose Garcia-Zarate, associate director of passive strategies research, explained: “This is a major milestone for an industry that is only two decades old in Europe and will surely make plenty of
More and more credible experts are exploring the possibility of wiping out public debts to get out of the over-indebtedness caused by crises, which blocks and disrupts the recovery of economies and the functioning of markets. This is the case of the book “Effacer les dettes publiques” recently published by Hubert Rodarie, a respected leader in
The Covid-crisis has become profitable for some in the financial sector. Among those who profit, are the Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), that seem to have stood up quite well in the face of the economic recession in recent months, and are now emerging stronger compared to traditional index funds. Charles Symons, Director of iShares in
The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a blow to pension systems across Europe, heaping pressure on policymakers to introduce reforms to avoid a decades-long retirement crisis, according to an influential consumer group. Big increases in unemployment will shrink the tax revenues used to fund state pensions and reduce contributions to retirement saving schemes run by employers
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.
As financial experts and policy advisors urge Brussels to make structural changes in the investment industry, the European Commission has been presented with a “game-changing” plan to overcome the dual challenges of the corona pandemic and Brexit through the unification of the 27 national markets in the EU into a single capital markets union (CMU).
Investment with a sustainable focus is only likely to grow, wealth managers believe. […] When BlackRock boss Larry Fink announced plans in January to put sustainability at the heart of the world’s biggest asset manager’s investment strategy, there was no mention of the newly-emerging coronavirus in China. […] The move came amid mounting hype about