This study is part of the BETTER FINANCE #FundResearch project, a research activity aimed at providing qualitative and quantitative assessments of the EU market for “retail” investment funds, focusing on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). This paper looks into the market for European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs)
The annual general meeting (AGM) is the cornerstone of shareholder democracy and an essential part of sound corporate governance. Not only are AGMs the place where shareholders get to vote on key decisions, it is also the only time board members and management are held to account, having to answer directly to their shareholders and
The annual general meeting of shareholders (AGM) is the cornerstone for sound corporate governance. It is through the shareholders’ vote at the AGM that board members’ actions get legitimacy and validity. However, it is not only voting that takes place at an AGM. The shareholders’ meeting is the only place where directors must report to
4 December 2020 – BETTER FINANCE is pleased to announce the affiliation of a new member organisation in Greece. HELINAS, the Hellenic Investors Association, is a Non-Governmental Organisation established in 2017 in Athens that is working to uphold investor rights. It is also the leader in shareholder activism in Greece and represents individual and institutional
On 25 September 2020, BETTER FINANCE released the eighth edition of its research report on the Real Return of Long-Term and Pension Savings. More than a month later, on 5 November, PensionsEurope (PE), the lobbyist for the European Pensions Industry, issued a press release levelling unwarranted and unsubstantiated criticism against the findings in the Bulgarian
The BETTER FINANCE welcomes the proposal put forward by the European Commission to simplify Prospectus disclosure rules for equity issuers in order to stimulate equity financing by companies in need and restore sustainable debt-equity ratios. We believe that both Capital Markets Union (CMU) and COVID-19 recovery policies should be tailored to attract more EU households
We welcome the EC’s initiative to alleviate some regulatory requirements enabling EU capital markets’ potential to boost recovery from the COVID-19 induced economic downturn. However, we wish to warn about the long-term detrimental effects that several provisions and amendments will have on “retail” investor protection if done in “haste” and without proper scrutiny and attention
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the the use of specific templates to standardise the disclosures of ESG information. We consider that to be comparable, the information disclosed must reach the highest degree of standardisation at cross-sectoral levels and standardisation concerns not only the type of information to be included, but also the order flow and format; in
BETTER FINANCE thanks the ECB for this initiative to reach out to EU citizens as users of financial services and to the “civil society” at large. We acknowledge the major role of the ECB in addressing many short-term issues arising from the 2008 financial crisis and today from the COVID one: Financial repression at unprecedented
BETTER FINANCE thanks the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for its “peer review” report on the Wirecard scandal. It is quite revealing of the many failures and conflicts of interests that can plague even the most resourced national financial supervisors. It is unfortunate however that ESMA did not look into the handling by the