A capital markets union, a banking union, strengthened financial supervision and making the European financial sector more sustainable… These are just a few of the ambitious proposals from the European Commission. Despite the opposition of Member States, many of those plans have been implemented over the last ten years. Although there is still a long
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
Brussels has approved plans for the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). Eugen Teodorovici, Minister for Finance of Romania told Funds Europe that “Under the new rules, PEPPs will have the same standard features wherever they are sold”. PEPP savers will not only be able to choose from a broad range of providers but will also
As BREXIT approaches, the loss of the main financial centre in the EU is also nearing. In such circumstances, the Capital Markets Union, as well as various other legislative initiatives and action plans are more important than ever. Speaking at a BETTER FINANCE conference in December 2018 in Brussels, Stephane Boujnah, CEO of Euronext, insisted
The average individual investor is overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of, and uncertainty associated with, the investment products available. Earlier this year, the European Commission released the findings of a study it commissioned on the European market for retail investment products. This should be seen in light of the continued work towards a Capital Markets
The challenge of an aging population is getting more and more acute every day. On the one hand, the European Commission states that close to one out of five people over 65 in the European Union are at risk of poverty and that women are not sufficiently protected with regard to their rights to an
European investor lobby group Better Finance has urged the European Commission to develop an ‘action plan’ to help citizens with financial matters. Presenting its sixth annual research study on pension savings earlier this month, Guillaume Prache, head of the consumer lobby, called for the Commission’s Consumer Financial Services Action Plan to be extended beyond its
Each year more than 100 billion euros are invested in life insurance, which remains the most popular placement among wealthier people who are not concerned about fees charged on their investment. However, for the less wealthy, it remains an expensive placement, becoming even more expensive each year, since returns continue to decrease. It turns out
The outlook for European pension savers is bleak in spite of a six-year bull market for European equities and bonds, investor lobby group Better Finance has said. Europe’s pension savings gap surpasses €2 trillion a year, or around 13% of Europe’s GDP, according to research carried out by Better Finance. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) added
Last week, IPE (Investment & Pensions Europe) published an article on the variety of responses to the EU’s proposed pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). In a response to BETTER FINANCE’s calls for policy makers writing the PEPP rulebook to include protection against inflation in real terms, both the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection