Today FTfm, the FT's review of the fund management industry, dedicated two articles to BETTER FINANCE's 2015 edition of “Pension Savings: The Real Return”, to be announced this Wednesday 30 September at the Brussels Press Club.
The third edition of our research report now covers the performance of the market for investment and pension products in Europe in 15 EU countries and shows that the lack of consumer trust is a direct consequent of the persistent inability of many financial intermediaries to deliver decent long term returns. It is clear that the poor performance of private pensions in Europe is chiefly due to excessive charges which threaten to eradicate the real value of investment returns.
Based on the findings of the report, the Financial Times correctly points out that "European equity and bond markets have delivered positive returns but this is not matched by pension savings products in most European countries, with some even showing losses. A large part of the problem is that most people save via “packaged products” rather than directly into equities and bonds and even pension plans run by employers increasingly invest via funds rather than directly".
Pauline Skypala of FTfm wonders “why anyone but the saver [should] profit from pensions” whereas Chris Flood takes a closer look at the high fees that are hurting pensioners across Europe.
Both articles are available here: