
	Editorial - August 2024

	John Mitchem Co-Founder of Jasper Forum 10 Takeaways from the Jasper Roundtables Europe Over the past three years, Jasper Forum has organized more than 30 online sessions, with over 1,000 global colleagues and friends. Our center-of-gravity has been global retirement finance, specifically workplace savings programs. But the improvisatory nature of Jasper always takes us in multiple directions. Jasper, as we say, isn’t the “conference” – it’s the coffee bar outside the conference. In June 2024, we organized four Jasper Roundtable discussions in Paris, London, Copenhagen and Rotterdam – our first-ever live events. Here’s what we heard in Europe. 1. Global Aging Global aging is second only to global climate change as a driver of systemic change. In Europe, increasing life expectancy and declining fertility are conspiring to collapse the “support ratio” – roughly the ratio of current workers to current retirees. This in turn places pressure on retirement systems, particularly publicly-funded pensions that have played such a critical role in Europe over recent generations. This unalterable fact means that governments must not only contend with increased numbers of retirees, but deficits in the labor force. After years of “parametric adjustment” – raising retirement ages, altering inflation assumptions, increasing contribution rates – governments are looking for new solutions. 2. The Four Horsemen of the Middle-Class Apocalypse All over the world we find endorsement of our Jasper Forum concept of the “Four Horsemen” – housing, healthcare, education and retirement. In countries all over Europe (and the world), increasing longevity and monetary policy have conspired to push all four toward becoming “luxury goods”. Workplace savings programs help to mitigate stress on all four priorities, ensuring that they don’t compete with each other. 3. Pooled Retirement Risk Europe has long taken a collective approach to retirement security. In countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain, pay-as-you-go government social insurance schemes dominate. In the Nordics, mandatory workplace contributions to defined benefit (DB), defined contribution (DC) or collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes cover nearly all the labor force. The big idea: everyone in the society should be able to achieve financial security in retirement. The problem: global aging is making this more expensive by the year. Whether the solutions are public or private, they should “pool” benefits and risks …and they must be sustainably funded. 4. Stakeholder Engagement Effective retirement systems emerge from deep collaboration between multiple stakeholders – elected officials, regulators, employers, employees, trustees and financial services firms. Governments set policies and provide safety nets; employers offer pension funds and DC savings plans; financial institutions manage funds, trustees oversee governance; and employees fund the system from their wages. Celebrated and well-funded retirement finance systems do not rise by spontaneous combustion – they are forged in shared responsibility and aligned incentives. 5. Control & Responsibility There is a growing trend towards shifting the responsibility for retirement finance from governments and employers to individuals. This shift is seen in the move from defined benefit (DB) pension plans, where employers guarantee a specific retirement benefit (but retirees own no assets), to defined contribution (DC) plans, in which individuals share investment risk and responsibility for “owned” assets. Collective Defined Contribution (CDC), long-established in Denmark and emerging in the Netherlands lies between the two, at the DB end of the spectrum. European retirement systems are pushing hard in the direction of participant responsibility, but while the best systems (notably the Nordics) are superbly managed, they have no experience with retail consumer engagement that is the center of gravity with DC systems. The new individual-centric systems will turn on auto-enrollment, auto-allocation and interactive fintech for account management and retirement income projection. 6. Fintech & Personalization New technologies are transforming the management and delivery of retirement services. Mobile-based platforms allow individuals to manage their retirement savings. Artificial intelligence (AI) and personalization technologies can provide tailored advice, automate investment decisions, and improve user engagement. These innovations can increase accessibility, reduce costs, and improve the overall efficiency of retirement systems. European retail retire-tech lags behind the United States for the moment; it will catch up fast. 7. Public & Private Markets Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) holds that a broad array of investment assets is essential to the optimization of returns and risk. Funded retirement systems in the Nordic countries have a full array of publicly traded stocks, bonds and indices, together with private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, and other assets. The US DC savings complex is almost entirely allocated to stocks and bonds, posing substantial concentration risk. In coming years, US allocation will increasingly mirror the Nordics. 8. ESG is Here to Stay In the US, ESG seems to have fallen out of fashion due to a blend of political pressures, a renewed focus on returns and general portfolio rebalancing. But in Europe, the principles of sustainable investment seem permanently embedded into the DNA of pension funds. The “Green Transition” and the “Digital Transition” are central to European strategic thinking and likely to stay that way. 9. Capital Markets Union (CMU) For some years, European policymakers have unsuccessfully pursued Capital Markets Union (CMU) that would establish a unitary, deep and liquid pool of capital on the scale of the United States. The US has a vast capital market that reduces systemic cost cost-of-capital; the country’s $40 trillion retirement finance complex is the heart of this market. But European CMU remains elusive. The member states of the European Union still reserve for themselves the right to legislate and regulate on matters of pensions, tax and finance. European governments well-understand the potential benefits of funded retirement finance and CMU. But for the moment this goal remains politically out of reach. 10. Culture & Trust Culture – historic, social, political, economic – is the DNA of the global retirement finance system. Culture’s cousin “trust” is similarly determinative. And while these concepts can’t be rendered on a spreadsheet, they are all-important. In Europe, a history of military conflict and serial capital destruction, described memorably in Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century” has left a lingering deficit on both fronts. The Nordic countries are “all-in” on funded retirement finance. Workers seem well-content to defer substantial portions of their wages to local pension funds. And Nordic retirement systems are routinely cited as the best in the world. In large European countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain, governments ask that workers make equally significant retirement contributions – in the form of social security tax payments. In addition to these retirement finance contributions, European personal savings rates hover around 10% as compared with 5-7% in the United States. But Europeans tend to allocate to low-return, guaranteed instruments like insurance products and bank deposits and in real estate. By some estimates EU “assets for retirement” (as opposed to “retirement assets”) may top €10 trillion. Truth be told, Europeans don’t have many other options. American style brokerage accounts, DC savings and fund supermarkets are not deeply imbedded in financial practice. There is no “European” financial culture, to say nothing of a unitary investment market. Instead, Europe has 27 different financial cultures. Many cite this as a semi-permanent barrier to retirement finance evolution. Others believe that preoccupation over Europe’s under-developed financial culture may be a stalling tactic designed to delay long-overdue changes From Crisis to Opportunity European policy-makers often frame demographic and financial challenges as a “retirement crisis”. But in Europe today, there is also a growing recognition that retirement finance represents an opportunity for innovation and economic development. An older generation of Europeans seems intent on preserving the status quo, (even as they recognize its looming unsustainability). Younger Europeans seem eager to engage whatever private savings mechanisms are available to them. The European Union has a GDP of $20 trillion. Regional funded retirement finance assets comprise some $4 trillion – over 90% of which are in the Nordic countries. Were the EU as a whole to achieve a retirement-assets-to-GDP ratio of 100% (the Nordics are already closing in on 200%), Europe would be showered with a $16 trillion windfall of retirement investment, across a wide diversity of financial assets, with a 40-year investment horizon. Retirement finance could be a primary capital source for Europe’s “green transition” and “technology transition”. Funded retirement finance would do far more than shore up the continent’s social benefit programs. It could re-define the EU economy for the 21st Century.

John Mitchem is Principal of JM3 Projects, a global financial industry consultancy, and collaborated with Bob Reynolds, CEO of Putnam Investments, on his book From Here to Security: How Workplace Savings Can Keep America’s Promise. In 2022, with Jorik van Zanden of Utrecht University (Netherlands), he founded the Jasper Forum, a global discussion group focused on defined contribution workplace savings.


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Editorial - July 2024

Martin Klein
FEICIF Deputy Chairman, VOTUM Chairman

Let’s work on standards instead of regulation

The European financial services industry rightly complains about the ever-increasing pace of regulation. The EU Commission reinforces the impression that regulation is being pursued as an end in itself for the continued employment of civil...

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Editorial - July 2024

Vania Franceschelli
Chairperson

TOWARDS THE FUTURE OF FECIF

This year FECIF will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The association has moved on a lot since it was created by a group of successful entrepreneurs who had started to shape financial advice across Europe...

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	Editorial - May 2024 Simon Colboc FECIF & FEPI Secretary General *Capital Market Union: looking for real progress beyond the blame game* On 11 April 2024, in a conference room in Brussels, we sat down for an EU-organised roundtable on retail participation in the Capital Markets. It was the culmination of a year-long effort by product providers to... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2024 Jorik van Zanden, co-founder of the Jasper Forum *The need for capital markets and proper advice* Why and how do we have pensions? The provision of income in old age is one of the most precarious of all social benefits. At a macro level, how do we prevent our elders from falling into poverty once they are no longer working? At a micro level, how do we ensure that the income decline in... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2024 Simon Colboc FECIF & FEPI Secretary General *2024: the year ahead for Financial Advisors* As we settle down for a well-deserved new year break, now is a good time to reflect on the events of 2023 and what we expect in the coming year. As we prepare to open the Champagne (or Cava, Sekt, Prosecco or whatever your favourite.... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2023 Martin Klein FEICIF Deputy Chairman, VOTUM Chairman *European politicians must see cutting red tape as a core task* Harmful new regulation must be prevented - the Retail Investment Strategy is a warning sign for this! The unchecked increase in bureaucratic burdens is weakening... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2023 Josep Soler-Albertí EFPA Spain’s Executive Director FECIF’s Board Director *RIS: let’s make the skills matter.* After many consultations and reports within the framework of the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), the European Commission (EC) published in May the proposal for an “Omnibus Directive” as regards the retail investor protection rules, which modifies five main financial... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2023 Frank Rottenbacher AfW Member of the Board *Overview of the amendments proposed on MiFID and MiFIR* At the end of 2021, the European Commission presented a Regulation proposal (2021/0385) to amend the MIFIR Regulation (600/2014 EU) aiming at improving the transparency of market data, the elimination of obstacles to the emergence of a consolidated... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2023 Me Yves Nidegger Lawyer, Member of the Swiss Parliament, Legal Advisor of GSCGI-SAIFA *Welcome to the age of sanctions* It does not seem impossible to me at all that, after the Stone Age and the Iron Age, the archaeologists of the future will one day designate the era we are entering today as the Age of Sanctions... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2023 Josep Soler-Albertí EFPA Spain’s Executive Director FECIF’s Board Director *Access to forecasts and information asymmetry in financial advice* The information asymmetry between suppliers and customers in the investment product markets, as in others, is to blame for its imperfect functioning. The availability of analysis and forecasts for suppliers and not for clients is... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2023 David Charlet ANACOFI Chairman *A crazy 2022 – what awaits in 2023?* War, financial markets, real estate, revision of European texts... between a planned return to normal life and the abnormality of an unthinkable and yet present war... let’s have a look back at a crazy year for our professions and for the world. What next could we expect for 2023... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 20221 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *Assets for retirement in Europe: the case of the missing €10tn* High-level analyses of demographic evolution in Europe and the state of local unfunded pension schemes come to the alarming conclusion that there is €10tn missing from the system, if we are to have a level of funded pensions comparable with US, UK or Scandinavian markets... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2022 Vincent Derudder Honorary Chairman & Board member *European e-commerce continues to grow* Despite consumer caution about spending – because of the war in Ukraine, uncontrolled inflation, disruption of global chain supplies and a general sense of uncertainty leading to pre-pandemic level growth – e-commerce has continued to grow in 2021 in Europe and it... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2022 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *The European Commission project for Open Finance* In 2020, the Commission identified the promotion of data-driven finance as one of the priorities of its digital finance strategy. On 25 November 2021, the Commission proposed legislative proposals on the Single European Access Point (ESAP) as part of the Capital Markets Union... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2022 Garry Heath Member of the FECIF board *Major insights into the impact of regulation* Every two years, the UK’s adviser trade association, The Impartial Financial Advisers Association, creates a report on the availability of professional advice to UK consumers. This report is created from desktop research via already published information combined with a... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2022 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *The new European digital finance package* The EU Digital Finance Package consists of a series of initiatives that will be implemented by 2024, aimed at encouraging the development of the European Union and a competitive financial sector, intended to reap the benefits of digital finance in terms of... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2022 Josep Soler-Albertí Chairman, FECIF Advisory Committee and CEO, EFPA Spain *Thirteen clues to investment in 2022* We could cite less than 13, or even more clues, but it must be said that, contrary to what some people think, investment will not be driven by good or bad luck, but by a set of economic and political forces... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2021 Jim Henning Principal Investment Consultant, Dynamic Planner *Sustainability: what is the role of the financial markets?* How are we able to satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? Financial institutions such as... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2021 David Charlet ANACOFI Chairman *Economic recovery or stall?* Return to normal life or Covid episode 4 or 5? Will Europe and the rest of the world experience the same “back to school”? What role for the companies and intermediaries that we represent? We all tried to make the month of August as restful as possible, as disconnected from Covid as we... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2021 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *COVID-19 highlights the limitations of Money Market Funds* The pandemic emergency outbreak, in March 2020, shed a light on some vulnerabilities of money market funds, which have experienced huge outflows and problems in selling their assets to meet investors’ demands. Fortunately... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2021 Martin Klein Chairman FECIF & VOTUM *“Spirit of optimism in Europe”* There is a spirit of optimism in the air. Across Europe. Even though all 27 EU member states are in the midst of the final phase of fighting the pandemic and the infection figures do not yet allow a final signal of relief, rising vaccination rates finally promise a timely ray of hope... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2021 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *Pension reform in Europe: make way for the 4th Pillar?* A wide-ranging study on retirement across Europe conducted in 2020 by the FECIF European Pensions Institute (FEPI) shows that current pension reforms, however ambitious, are far from enough to address the scale of the issue. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2021 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *The Savings Revolution* Household financial savings are making headlines today. This is hardly surprising, given that everything seems to revolve around these savings, from the financing of pensions to the development of a more sustainable economy, the very survival of old Europe and our... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2020 Vincent J.Derudder FECIF Advisory Committee Member & Honorary Chairman *Building Partnerships with European Professional Associations* In 2000, under the presidency of Portugal, the “strategy of Lisbon” was launched to promote a European knowledge-based and competitive economy, in the paradigm of the competitive... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2020 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *The importance of fighting for gender equality in the financial advice industry* Gender equality is a key point in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25th September 2015. The plan set by the Agenda is formed by 17 goals that aim to... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2020 Edden Kift PortfolioMetrix business development team *5 ways advisers have remained client focused during COVID-19* The global pandemic has necessitated a rethink by many advisers about how they should go about their business. While some have continued to function relatively easily and effectively, for others... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2020 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *Millennials – a generation that needs to be heard* Financial advisors have to take into account that their role needs to be sustainable in the long term. A great role in this process is played by the ability to listen and study the habits and needs of new generations. A focus on the younger portion of the population will enhance... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2020 Josep Soler-Albertí CEO, IEF & Executive director, EFPA Spain *Financial advice and the cognitive biases of pensions* When Richard Thaler, after winning the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on the impact of irrationality and emotions in economic decisions, responded to journalists that he would spend the amount of the prize (one million euros) “irrationally”, he undoubtedly... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2020 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *Does financial advice provide value? It sure does!* A recent study proved that: • Professional financial advice can and does significantly enhance clients’ wealth. • That this benefit occurs even in a commission environment. • And it is most valuable for less wealthy clients. Quantifying the value of advice has always been somewhat... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2019 Jiří Šindelář Broker Consulting, a.s. former Deputy Chairman of FECIF Yet another regulatory myth explained Nobody in the financial industry could have missed how notable the attention has been in all recent regulations paid to the conflict of interest and its mitigation. All those MiFIDs, IDDs, MCDs and other Directives, have substantial parts dedicated to so called “inducements”. This is... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2019 David Charlet FECIF & ANACOFI Chairman *A new EU or same old, same old?* Will this summer see a new Europe or the return to the “good old continent"? What are the challenges for our profession and our clients? It will not have been easy but finally, Ursula von der Leyen was... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2019 Olivia Geldenhuys PortfolioMetrix Head of Support, Europe Trust – the cornerstone of financial advice There’s a quote that says, “Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair”. This is nowhere truer than in the financial world, where a person’s quality of life relies on decisions made by the experts in whom they place their trust. As a financial adviser, your ability to build trust... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2019 Vincent J.Derudder FECIF Advisory Committee Member & Honorary Chairman *Happy Birthday FECIF! And here’s to real consumer protection* On the 30th June this year, FECIF will celebrate its 20th anniversary! The Fédération Européenne des Conseils et Intermédiaires Financiers Aisbl (FECIF) was created on 30th June 1999 by a Royal Decree of the Belgian Ministry of Justice at the request of ... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2019 Vania Franceschelli Member of Fecif Board of Directors & Foreign Affairs, Anasf ESG – growing in importance for everyone! From a recent survey carried out by a famous global investment company, 46% of investors want to focus more on sustainability criteria for their portfolio choice and as a result 93% of fund managers cannot fail to take this into account in monitoring the company in which... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2018 Jiří Šindelář Deputy Chairman FECIF *Unique Research: In the first two years of the FECIF Expertise initiative, what have we learned so far?* It has been two years, since FECIF started its Expertise initiative, a huge push for greater and better knowledge about the pan-European financial advice and intermediation sector. Since I have been honoured to chair the whole project among... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2018 Daphne Foulkes, Board Member of FECIF, Chairperson of FEPI, and Partner at The Spectrum IFA Group *The Insurance Distribution Directive – Are you ready?* Since 2005, insurance intermediaries have operated under the rules of Directive (2002/92/EC) – the Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD). This has now been replaced by the EU Directive 2016/97 – the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD)... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2018 Vincent J.Derudder Honorary Chairman *Crisis in Europe?* Europe is going through a very serious crisis and so is the EU financial services industry. To focus on some basic indicators, the world today is made up of a homogenous block of four dominant countries (the US, Russia, India and China) representing 4 billion people and.. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2018 Jiří Šindelář Deputy Chairman FECIF *Did we become hostages to ever-increasing regulation?* According to most common sources, Stockholm syndrome is a type of psychological bond between hostage and their hijacker, when the former develops emotional ties to a person that beats, abuses or generally hurts him or her. Plainly sad, it is.... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2018 Vania Franceschelli Member of Fecif Board of Directors & Foreign Affairs, Anasf IDD and MiFID II. Beloved sisters or competing friends? Time has come. On 19 March the amendment postponing the application date of directive 2016/97 (Insurance Distribution Directive - IDD) has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. By 1 July Member States shall thus adopt and publish all the laws... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2018 Daphne Foulkes, Partner, The Spectrum IFA Group and FECIF Board Member *Will your pension sustain you through retirement?* It is widely known that Europe’s ageing population is a problem for EU Member States. Quite simply, people are living longer and this impacts on the sustainability of State pension systems, referred to as... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2017 David Charlet FECIF & ANACOFI Chairman *Beyond robo-advisors, what might the future be for following generations?* The media seems to have only one word to say at present, when explaining our future: robots! Is it time for robo-advisors to replace our human members? If you take a look to some of our previous editorials, written by our Secretary General or some of our members, you will... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2017 Dhruv Mehta, Chairman of the FOUNDATION OF INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISORS *Evolution and Regulatory Challenges – Lessons from India* The Foundation of Independent Financial Advisors (FIFA) is a body representing Advisors and Distributors of Mutual Funds in India, commonly known as Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs). During my recent meeting with FECIF I realised the common... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2017 Jiří Šindelář Member of FECIF board of directors *How Vox Populi in Europe is (sometimes) being portrayed* Two weeks ago, my home city of Prague hosted an important event: the Joint ESAs’ Consumer Protection Day. This is an event that forms an important part of the regulation agenda and according to its organisers should “discuss issues related to consumer... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2017 David Charlet FECIF & ANACOFI Chairman Europe as financial advisers see it A long time ago, the European Union used to be a place for the production of coal and steel. Nowadays, it seems to be a global Union far more engaged than the US with our jobs and other matters. Consider: in the US no would find “passports” for... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2017 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Are you really ready for the future?* “The other day Ray was having a conversation with his 13 year old son and they ended up on a topic / issue that they needed more info on – his response was to “Google” it, his son chose to “YouTube” it. He realised at that point that they had different ways of looking for information, learning answers, and engaging with... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2017 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Transparency not commission is the real key for 2017 and beyond* A number of industry commentators keep stating that it’s now all about the end of commission on a global basis – but is it, really? We all know of the switch to fees in the UK, and also a small number of other locations around the world, but certain other jurisdictions have also been quoted as moving in that direction, only for regulators in... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2016 Paul Resnik Cofounder & Director of Finametrica *Robo 3.0* *Robo advisors are, beyond any doubt, hugely disruptive to the financial advice market. But not in the way that many people expect.* Many commentators and analysts are still focused on trying to pick the ‘Uber moment’, when robos wipe out the old world by... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2016 Schroders Investment Management *Over confident investors and the help they need* Investors thinking they know more than they do about investing could cause problems when it comes to their future financial planning. Investors could be missing out on billions of Euros in investment returns by over estimating their own ability to understand... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2016 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Robo-advice financially unviable* The above was the main content of an article in a financial industry publication last month. This was based on a recent study, which found that UK robo-advisers are structured in such a way that they will lose money and “most will go bust before acquiring the sizeable assets under management needed to survive”. Food for thought, not least for regulators – many of whom seem... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2016 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Do consumers and advisers finally have the same goals?* Over the last year or two it has struck me that the increasing complexity of regulation is not only being seen in a negative light by the financial advisory and intermediary market – there are also growing concerns being expressed by consumers and, in particular, consumer groups, that this is having a negative impact on the public at large. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2016 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Interesting implications for the rest of Europe and beyond?* Last month saw the publication of the results for the UK’s Financial Advice and Market Review (FAMR). Whilst this might not have had much in the way of impact elsewhere across Europe, it perhaps should have done... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2016 Jiří Šindelář Member of FECIF board of directors *The Brussels’ Circle of Overregulation* Even though the European Union was given a series of warnings regarding its effort to regulate anything and everything, it did not slow down. Despite proclamations about “changing the course” and “smart regulation”, from November to December... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2015 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Robo-advice: fact and fiction* I have lost count of the amount of articles about so-called robo-advice. It certainly is the “flavour of the month” and, if we believe all that we hear, will soon become the most important element in the delivery of financial services. I have some strong views on this…. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2015 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Where now for commissions?* European regulators eventually “stood back from the brink” and within the agreed text of both MiFID 2 and the IDD (Insurance Distribution Directive) fell short of a complete commission ban – a ban that many thought might well happen as little as 12 months ago!... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2015 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *The importance of effective representation* The compromise text for the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) was recently finalised and it was very pleasing to see that the vast majority of the proposals put forward by FECIF in the recent consultation period have been heeded. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2015 Garry Heath Director General Libertatem Garry Heath announced the launch of Libertatem last month, a new trade association set up to represent all types of financial advisers based in the UK. His thoughts and plans are outlined below – they have great relevance to the rest of Europe. Over the last decade the industry has lost sight ... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2015 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *10 reasons to use a Financial Adviser* Many people have the perception that only the very wealthy need financial advice. However, the facts are that anyone can potentially benefit from such advice... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2015 Garry Heath Journalist, The Heath Report assured *IFAs: Support trade associations or jeopordise independence* The last month has been one of travel. Firstly a symposium to address in Toronto and then it was Brussels and the FECIF conference... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2014 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Our immediate goals* I was very pleased to be elected as the new Secretary General of FECIF at our last Board meeting, it is very much an honour to represent a body that supports and promotes the adviser... >> CONTINUE READING


	Editorial - April 2024 David Charlet ANACOFI Chairman *Financial education (literacy) of investors and training of advisors and intermediaries:* is the Retail Investment Strategy a revolution and where is it taking us? cliquez ici pour la version française The European education reform... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2024 Vania Franceschelli Chairperson *Open finance and the role of financial advice* Financial advisors, by virtue of their function as connectors between financial markets and retail customers, are called upon to be ahead of the times and be ready to provide clients with the knowledge and skills necessary to allow them to make the most of the new... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2023 Josep Soler-Albertí EFPA Spain’s Executive Director FECIF’s Board Director *The continuous and mostly unnoticed European impoverishmen* Anyone who has had the opportunity to recently travel around the United States will have easily noticed a widespread increase in prices, particularly perceived by those whose reference currency is... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2023 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *Pension Savings meet green transition: could non-listed assets help solve Europe’s pension gap?* European policymakers are pushing hard to develop Europe’s financial markets, at a time when it seems our stock-markets are losing the fight against their US competitors (How the US is crushing Europe’s... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2023 Vania Franceschelli Chairperson *Increasing retail investors participation in capital markets* One of the points within the agenda of the European Commission focuses on increasing retail investors’ participation in the capital markets. To this end, Mrs. Mairead McGuinness, the European Commissioner for Financial... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2023 Jiří Šindelář Former FECIF deputy chairman Chairman of the Czech Association of Financial Advisers and Intermediaries (ČASF) *For the people!* The recently published European Commission statement on the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) sparked relief among many financial professionals. The huge social engineering project of a ban on investment commissions was... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2023 Vincent Derudder Honorary Chairman & Board member *Crisis in Europe?* The European Union is going through a very serious crisis, and so is the EU financial services industry, because of the war launched by the Russians in Ukraine, plus the tensions in the markets, and so many areas of the world. Europe encompasses about 550 million people and the rest of... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2023 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *Perhaps we get what we deserve?* Back in 2015, a newly-launched UK trade association raised concerns of serious importance that were – and have been - extremely important in other countries too. I wrote about those at that time and many are still issues today; some are even greater problems now, or likely to become... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2022 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *Overview of the amendments proposed on MiFID and MiFIR* At the end of 2021, the European Commission presented a Regulation proposal (2021/0385) to amend the MIFIR Regulation (600/2014 EU) aiming at improving the transparency of market data, the elimination of obstacles to the emergence of a consolidated... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 20221 Louis Williams Head of Psychology & Behavioural Insights at Dynamic Planner Attitude to financial risk across Europe *Attitude to financial risk across Europe* As we begin to witness a shift in saving intentions and behaviours by households across Europe, it is somewhat surprising that a lack of research exists comparing attitudes to risk. Arguably, understanding... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2022 Johannes Muschik FECIF Board Member *Less insurance, more security* The Member States of the European Union require insurance intermediaries to have professional liability insurance of at least EUR 1,250,000 for each individual claim and EUR 1,850,000 for all claims in a year. This is what the EU Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) requires. The aim of the... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2022 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *The next 10 years* I recently came across an article that I wrote in December 2015 and immediately wondered whether what I had written had come to pass, in any way, shape or form. Without wanting to sound immodest, my predictions appear to have been fairly accurate and in a shorter timescale – but... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2022 Fernando Zunzunegui Member of the Advisory Committee *Knowledge gives us autonomy* This statement, that could easily be agreed by anyone, is even more true when we are talking about professionals in any field. Professionals are defined precisely for their technical capacity and their independence of criteria, and these skills depend on their knowledge... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2022 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *The need to regulate the robo adviser industry by focusing on investor protection* Robo advisers are attracting growing interest in the financial arena, but at the same time there is a lack of awareness and knowledge on how to approach this world. As the use of these services could rise in... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2021 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *A shift for long-term savings in Europe?* A recent study by CMI Strategies has revealed interesting trends about long-term savings in France and in Europe. There is a growing discrepancy in Europe between the need to increase long-term savings (not least for retirement) and... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2021 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *What do people think about a digital Euro?* What are the opinions of European citizens on a digital Euro? The picture offered by the European Central Bank public consultation sheds some light. The Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank and ... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2021 Josep Soler-Albertí Executive director, EFPA Spain *Banks and investments, not yet safe from the Covid-19 crisis* It is time to make a first count of the economic harm of the pandemic crisis, although not all damage has occurred yet. Firstly, we have all those companies that, disconnected from the artificial respirators, will definitely set sail... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2021 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *Treating clients fairly?* This is a term that the UK regulator, the FCA, has used extensively – particularly with regards to the advisory sector – and has been, albeit slightly differently phrased, at the core of all relevant EU regulations in recent years. And rightly so – putting the client at the centre of the whole process and... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2021 Josep Soler-Albertí Executive director, EFPA Spain *Challenges for financial advice in the post-Covid recovery* Although still with insufficient strength, we are probably at the beginning of the economic recovery. After more than a year accompanying clients in a journey of unprecedented health and economic crisis, we are heading for a change... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2021 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *The ELTIF: concrete help to support the EU capital markets union* ELTIFs (European Long-Term Investment Funds) are closed-end mutual funds that provide repayment of capital at maturity. They were introduced by EU Regulation 2015/760 to incentivise long-term investment in... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2020 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *Trust, Technology, Sustainability & Intergenerational Wealth: The Future of Financial Advice?* These were four of the key aspects highlighted during the inaugural FEIFA Autumn Conference Series, which took place throughout November... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - October 2020 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *Only a quarter of advisers always consider ESG investments* This was one of the significant findings of the recent, unique, ESG survey conducted by FECIF. Whilst it was found that over 90% of financial advisory professionals considered ESG investments some of the time, just 23% did... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - August 2020 Paul Stanfield FECIF Secretary General *FECIF: leading the way in ESG advice* I am very pleased to announce that we are presently conducting unique research in the area of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and Financial Education. As the Federation (www.fecif.eu) is a pan-European trade associatio... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - June 2020 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *Advice in the time of Coronavirus* Our entire continent is only now coming to grips with the first impact of the COVID-19 epidemic in terms of lives and health but also human interaction and economics. In a way, we are shell-shocked, and it is difficult to start thinking beyond the immediate future. However... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - April 2020 Simon Colboc FEPI Secretary General *How Europeans are REALLY preparing for retirement* Europeans are taking retirement planning into their own hands European policymakers and practitioners are undertaking fundamental reforms of existing pension structures, adapting non-pension assets that are used for support in retirement and creating... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - February 2020 Vania Franceschelli Deputy Chairwoman *A Code of Conduct for Professionals* Financial advisers play a key role in helping citizens meet their goals and make informed investment decisions, with particular regard to the value of financial planning and the enhancement of financial education. Recognising this important role, and the need for... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2019 Martin Klein Managing Director at Votum & Member of FECIF Board of Directors Gold-plating continues to undermine the single European market Is Germany on its way to becoming a planned economy by introducing a commission ceiling in the insurance industry? German governments like to see themselves in the position of... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2019 Vania Franceschelli FECIF Secretary General & Foreign Affairs, ANASF The future rests on education Financial literacy and education are key elements of the path to economic growth and social inclusion in the European Union. At the same time, it is important to remember the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted on 25 September 2015 by... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2019 Daniel GLASNER CEDR Accredited Mediator, Honorary Member of GSCGI and an Independent Financial Advisor at ACTION FINANCE SA *Dispute resolution – the Swiss way* In Switzerland, mediation will become mandatory in disputes relating to asset management and financial advice as set by the new Financial Acts FinIA and FinSA that will come into effect on January 1st 2020. What’s new? Switzerland often successfully acts as Mediator in settlements of international conflicts. However... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2019 Vania Franceschelli FECIF Secretary General & Foreign Affairs, Anasf MiFID II costs disclosure. Nothing is flawless, not even regulation On March 28, ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, updated its Questions and Answers (Q&A) document on the implementation of investor protection under MiFID II. The periodic update of the Q&As can be appreciated from different points of view... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2019 Simon Colboc FECIF Advisory Committee member *A PEPP saga update: pep or dud?* FECIF readers are now familiar with the European project to create a cross-border market for individual pension savings, the Pan-European Personal Pensions (PEPP) initiative. Since this initiative first surfaced about three years ago... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2019 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *2019 – the year of the robo?* Happy New Year! And what a year it may well turn out to be. Despite the deluge of Regulations and Directives in 2018, I believe that it will be the next 12 months when we will see and feel the true effects of these. In addition, will 2019 see the true rise of so-called robo advice?... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2018 Jiří Šindelář Deputy Chairman FECIF *Are the regulators finally showing common sense?* During FECIF´s prestigious conference last week in Brussels, I started seriously thinking that after all, European regulators might be gaining some common sense in their thinking. Quite a heretical thought for a classical liberal, is it not? But when I heard MEP Mr. Markus Ferber talking about the PRIIPs KID being wrong... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2018 Daphne Foulkes, Board Member of FECIF, Chairperson of FEPI, and Partner at The Spectrum IFA Group *Next step for the PEPP saga* To date, many organisations have submitted detailed responses to the European Commission’s (EC) draft PEPP Regulation, which was published on 29th June 2017. There is strong consensus for the merit of the PEPP, both by the Trilogue participants (European Commission... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2018 David Charlet FECIF & ANACOFI Chairman *What sort of summer for intermediaries and Europe?* And now comes the time for holidays for most citizens in Europe, but also time for everyone in their offices to have a couple of quieter weeks, dedicating their work to more fundamental tasks like reviewing their processes or closing late files that... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2018 Simon Colboc Member of Fecif Advisory Committee The PEPP saga: what does it mean for advisors? Anyone interested in the future of pensions should welcome the European initiative on the Pan European Personal Pension products (PEPP). Retirement provision is a major issue facing all European countries, hit by a combination of increasing... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2018 Jiří Šindelář Deputy Chairman FECIF *How much do we pay for over-regulation?* Over-regulation of financial services in the European Union is a well-recognised fact, even among the bureaucracy in Brussels. The key feature of all those MiFIDs, IDDs or GDPRs, however, is not its devastating effect on the (small and medium-sized) businesses themselves, but its detrimental cost to the customer... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2018 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *The moment I realised the value of (human) advice* This was (almost) the title of an article I recently read – and which reminded me of the fact that many advisers don’t always realise just how much positive impact they have on people’s lives. Or where that impact is most beneficially experienced by the client... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2017 Vania Franceschelli FECIF Board Member and Regional Manager of the ANASF financial education programme *The social value of financial education* If I consider my personal experience as a financial advisor and, more generally, the provision of investment services to citizens, I can envisage two concepts for the future of our professional activity: investor protection and financial education. On the one hand, investor... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2017 Daniel Guéguen Head of Strategy and Lobbying at PACT European Affairs A journey through the EU Institutions Every year before the start of the summer break, I treat myself to a journey through the EU Institutions. I say ‘treat’ because it is a real pleasure for me to speak freely and in full confidence with elected politicians, senior civil servants, head lobbyists and representatives from... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2017 Vania Franceschelli FECIF Board Member & ANASF Executive Committee Member *Product governance requirements will lead to greater quality of advice* Product governance requirements represent one of the most outstanding innovations of MiFID II, aiming at ensuring that firms which manufacture and distribute financial instruments act in the clients’ best interests during all the stages... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2017 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *The value of advice – and the cost of being unadvised* There have been numerous studies over the years that have shown the value of good quality financial advice – not least, the fact that clients that receive it are, in general, significantly better off in retirement and much more financially protected during their life journey towards that point... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2017 Vania Franceschelli FECIF Board Member & ANASF Executive Committee Member *We need new market propositions not unnecessary bans* The final date for the transposition of MiFID II in each Member State – January 3rd 2018 – is fast approaching. Is it possible to see some initial insights into the industry, in order to foresee the impact of the Directive on business models? In particular... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2017 Daniel Guéguen Head of Strategy and Lobbying at PACT European Affairs 2017: action, action, action ”My right flank is destroyed, my left flank is in retreat, everything is fine – attack!” Those were the words of General Foch in the darkest moments of World War One. We are there once again. Sink or act – that is the choice we have. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2016 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Playing your Trump card* Well, for those of us surprised by the Brexit vote - and there were plenty in the City of London that is for sure – the US election creates a whole new perspective with regards to astonishment, and on a much wider spectrum. I don’t know what it says about Hillary Clinton and her campaign – well, on reflection, I probably do – but the fact that Trump won, allied to the UK’s EU... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2016 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” This famous quote was a statement made by Mark Twain on hearing that he had been mistakenly announced dead. Although it is apparently a slight misquote, the meaning remains very much in line with what the great writer intended. It also came to my mind the other day when I was once again thinking about so-called “robo-advice” and... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2016 John Westwood FEIFA Board Member and Blacktower Group Managing Director *Brexit: a disaster or something far less worrying?* The British electorate has given its verdict on the UK’s membership of the European Union in no uncertain terms but, in spite of some emotional appeals to the contrary, this is not a disaster. It is worth remembering that on the 20th February 2016, when David Cameron announced that the EU referendum would... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2016 Rebecca Murphy Director of Sales & Marketing at Praemium Re-engaging the investor *Re-engaging the investor* It’s rough sailing right now for investors and savers alike! Volatile markets and low interest rates are the norm, and investors are bombarded with information about products and services without understanding how any of it relates to them... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2016 David Denton Member of FECIF board of directors *You can run, but you can’t hide* The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Common Reporting Standards (CRS) - also known as Automatic Exchange of Information - is gathering pace post FATCA. For decades, developed economies have wrestled with the notion that wealth overseas, whilst not illegal... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - January 2016 Hans-Jürgen Bretzke CEO of FinanzAdmin GmbH *Some of the myths surrounding fintech companies* “I would go so far as to say that any broker armed with an average customer base and network is better placed than a fintech company on the strength of his or her client contacts alone.” In this guest contribution, Hans-Jürgen Bretzke, a member of ... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - November 2015 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Pension provision - is this the real “gap”?* The “advice gap” has received considerable coverage in the personal finance pages and trade press for some time now, across the UK in particular but it is also a growing concern across Europe and beyond. I wonder, however, if the focus should really be on the “pension’s gap”... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - September 2015 Vania Franceschelli Member of the Board of FECIF / Member of the Executive Committee of ANASF (Head of Foreign Affairs) In July FECIF sent its contribution to the ESMA Consultation Paper on the Draft guidelines for the assessment of staff knowledge and competence under MiFID II. This Consultation Paper is of outmost importance for all financial advisors in Europe, as it provides the basis for the definition of the qualification and... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2015 Paul Stanfield Chief Executive at FEIFA / FECIF Secretary General *Making regulation more effective and accountable* The month of May saw the launch of a new trade association in the UK, as highlighted in last month’s editorial. It seems to me that its aims and concerns are highly important elsewhere in the EU. >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - May 2015 Johannes Muschik Chairman of FECIF, Chairman of AFPA New Chairman takes office Back to my desk after our Annual General Meeting where I have been elected as Chairman for the period 2015/2016. The AGM was also an opportunity to exchange views on a number of hot topics concerning our industry... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - March 2015 Jiří Šindelář Chairman of USF CR / Member of the board of FECIF *Squaring the circle, or back to roots? A view of European regulatory turmoil from the former “Eastern Bloc”* When the Velvet revolution overthrew the Czech communist government in 1989, a crucial part of the change was the transition to liberal... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - December 2014 Graham Reid Managing Director at Classic Financial Solutions CVBA *The true worth of an adviser* A few years ago one of our clients suffered a nervous breakdown. After early retirement he had continued working as a consultant from a small office at home, from where he also managed the family finances, something in which ... >> CONTINUE READING

	Editorial - July 2014 David CHARLET ANACOFI For my first editorial as President of FECIF, I would like to thank every member of the Board, the General Assembly and the Staff. I would also express a special thought for Daniel Nicolaes, one of the best representatives of our profession in Europe, who disappeared a few months ago. >> CONTINUE READING