A report by Bruegel on transparency in the European Banking Union, based on a survey carried out in 2013, has recently been revisited by its authors, analysing the most recent evolution in terms of banking supervisory transparency. The updated report concludes that financial supervisory data transparency at the EU level has gradually improved but does
The Commission’s proposal for the review of the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD), aimed at countering wide-spread short-termism in favour of a long-term perspective in the governance of listed companies by stimulating stronger shareholder engagement, was presented to the European Parliament (EP) and Council. For all intents and purposes the SRD in its current form means
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the new “Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities” report released today by the European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA). But the ESMA press release does not say a word about individual investors’ trends and risks. Moreover, and of additional concern, the new report itself fails to identify and underline the mounting losses suffered by
The Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament (ECON) voted yesterday on the Regulation for a Key Information Document for investment products (formerly known as “PRIPs”). EuroFinUse praises the European Parliament for voting for more consistency in summary information for investors, but is quite concerned that a majority of the critical long term and
On the 26th of April, Funds Europe published an article on the challenges faced by consumers investing in financial products, tackling the issue in light of the upcoming public hearing -set for the 29th of June- and the EC`s "Study on the distribution systems of retail investment products". Called upon to comment, BETTER FINANCE highlighted the
A recent conference on the role of the asset management was held at the European Parliament. Politicians and consumer rights groups offered analysis on the added value active managed funds offer investors. Sven Giegold, a Green MEP, suggested that asset management companies have over charged investors and failed to offer investors value. The consensus of
It has been a rocky relationship but banks are falling back in love with their fund management arms. The idea would have been unthinkable five years ago, when many believed it was a case of when, not if, investment banks would look to sell off their divisions. After the financial crisis, banks including Barclays, Rabobank
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
In the current low interest environment, life insurance remains the better option for French long–term or pension savers (if invested in euros), with returns (on average around 2,5% gross in 2014) superior to other products. Still, to determine the real return, costs, taxes and inflation need to be taken into account. According to the study
An article which appeared in the Belgian newspaper L’Echo discusses the reticence of Belgian citizens to take risks with their savings. Guillaume Prache (BETTER FINANCE) and Jacques Berghmans (Treetop Asset Management) discuss why this is the case and what the potential solutions could be. Belgians don’t trust bankers to invest on their behalf. As Mr.