The presentation of the European Commission’s long-awaited retail investment strategy, has now been delayed once more, from an early May to a tentatively scheduled 24 May date, according to a person familiar with the policymaking process in Brussels.
In Luxembourg, the financial sector is concerned about whether the Commission will opt for a ban on inducements on investment advice as part of its strategy.
The strategy, a key component of the Commission’s capital markets union project, was planned for unveiling on 3 May, but has now been pushed back yet again. The capital markets union is a plan to encourage market finance in Europe’s economy that was first launched in 2015.
The plan will feature policies designed to encourage a shift away from the heavily bank-focussed savings pattern common in many EU member states.
Europe is held to punch well below its weight in global capital markets activity, with companies relying more on bank loans for financing than is common in the stock market-dominant United States, with many European citizens choosing to leave significant amount of their assets sitting in bank deposits, and with start-up firms often having to leave the EU in order to access market financing.
Higher savings
Comparative statistics have observed over the years that households saved a bigger proportion of their disposable income in the euro area than in the US. European households tend to invest mainly in dwellings a higher proportion of their disposable income than do US households.
In a recent interview with Investment Officer, Vincent Ingham, director of regulatory policy at the Brussels-based European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama) explained his view of the Commission’s rationale for the project:
“A striking observation in this context is that the European Union has one of the highest savings rates in the world, but comparatively low investment rate when it comes to retail participation in capital markets,” he said. “This is bad, first and foremost for investors, particularly in this contexts of high inflation and pressure on public pension systems. Individuals cannot afford to let their savings sit on deposit accounts with pretty low returns at a time of high inflation.”
Ban on inducements
Part of the discussion around the CMU, especially in Luxembourg, concerns a related proposal for a ban on inducements, which could be one of the elements the Commission wants to propose. The Commission has presented evidence retail investors are poorly advised on investments when inducements are allowed. Mairead McGuinness, the commissioner for financial services, has supported that in a recent speech where she said “retail investors are often advised to buy more expensive products and/or products which are not always the most suitable for their needs.»
Such bans are already in place in the Netherlands and the UK. McGuinness noted that the Dutch ban had led to a slight increase in the level of retail investment.
Investment professionals oppose ban
Most organisation representing investment professionals – including Efama, and Luxembourg’s Alfi – have come out against such a ban.
“Experience in the UK shows that a ban on inducements translates into an advice gap for the less affluent part of the population,” he said. “And if they don’t receive advice, it’s most likely retail citizens will not invest. They will keep their monies on their bank accounts because they often tend to be risk averse.”
However, organisations representing investors and financial service users, such as Better Finance, are fully supportive of a ban. The organisation, which refers to inducements as “commissions” has made its business to highlight what it calls “smoke and mirrors” used by asset managers and distributors to “obfuscate the negative effects of commissions, twisting certain findings to fit their false narrative.” It states that “Investment advice is never free of charge. Whether directly or indirectly, the client always pays for it.”