Unlocking Investment Potential across the European Union’s Capital Markets

Speaking today at the Realizing the Savings and Investments Union: Inclusion as a Vector of Integration for EU Capital Markets event in Brussels, Margaret Franklin, CFA, President and CEO of CFA Institute, underscored the critical role of an inclusive approach to mobilizing Europe’s household savings for greater capital markets participation.

Margaret Franklin, CFA, President and CEO of CFA Institute, comments:

“The financial industry must supply individuals across Europe with the investment and retirement savings options they need to invest in their futures. Capital markets are supposed to work for everyone, but fragmented markets, complex regulations, and the investment industry’s over-reliance on traditional banking channels limit the system’s potential.”

“Despite more than €11 trillion in household financial savings, the European markets have some of the lowest rates of retail participation in the capital markets globally. Individual pensions’ savings lag significantly behind global peers, meaning populations are missing out on the kind of investment returns that can make a meaningful difference in retirement. Even a modest shift of 10-20 percent toward long-term investments could have a meaningful impact on both retirement incomes and access to finance for European enterprises.”

“The investment industry needs to be able to deliver products that reflect the real-life investment needs of a diverse population of European savers. The urgency is now, and it is an opportunity not to be missed. I am excited to see parties coming together to navigate how we put financial inclusion at the center of policymaking to deliver policies that build trust, improve transparency, and simplify access to products that can help close the investment and pensions-savings gap and unlock sustainable growth.”

The event, which featured a conversation between Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, and Margaret Franklin, focused on the new European Commission strategy for a Savings and Investments Union that recognizes that retail investor participation across the EU economies is essential to the EU’s competitiveness and future growth.

“At its core, the Savings and Investments Union aims to reconcile the need for efficient funding of the economy, while providing European citizens with investment solutions they require for securing their long-term financial futures,” said Franklin.