The Netherlands is the European country where investors enjoy the best mutual fund experience according to research by Morningstar, the Chicago-based investment research firm that compiles and analyses fund, stock and general market data in order to determine the investment quality of a wide range of funds. South Korea and the United States top the worldwide list.
The investor experience rankings took into account factors such as regulation, taxation, disclosure, fees, expenses and sales practices. South Korea scores highly thanks to improved sales practices whereas low expenses as well as effective disclosure ensured a top spot for the United States.
Opaque fee structures make it difficult for customers to compare products and constitute just one of the problems for European investors who pay much more in fees than their American counterparts.
European investors overall have very little confidence in the long term investment services offered to them by the financial industry as shown by the annual EU Consumer Scoreboard. Since 2010 “investment products, private pension and securities” have found themselves at the very bottom of the ranking of 31 consumer services markets.
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