Improving retail investment in the EU: Key points by civil society

This two-pager summarises the recommendations of BEUC, BETTER FINANCE and Finance Watch on the available positions of the European Parliament and Council regarding the Retail Investment Strategy.

The Retail Investment Strategy was launched in May 2023, due to the realisation that consumers (i.e. individual investors and policyholders) in the EU keep much of their financial savings in bank accounts and in other nominal capital guaranteed products instead of investing them. This is not only unfavourable for the creation of a strong EU capital markets union, but also undermines consumers’ own financial interests as un-invested savings are more impacted by inflation and earn very small or negative real returns. The lack of investment also exacerbates the pensions gap (i.e. what consumers need for a comfortable retirement and what they actually receive). Measures to enhance the trustworthiness and independence of investment advice would have contributed greatly to solving this issue by increasing trust in the market and improving product quality. While the political discussion on this key point has now unfortunately closed, a number of other policy options may still improve the status quo for the coming years.

For a more detailed overview, please consult this document.