More must be done to improve European citizens’ financial literacy

The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published a report entitled, “The European Asset Management Industry’s Engagement in Financial Education Initiatives”. 

Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, President of EFAMA, comments: “Europeans are facing sharp increases to their cost of living but the need to save for the future and personal retirement has not changed. This is a challenging backdrop to most people’s personal finances, which is why now is a critical moment to ensure they are empowered to take more control of their money. The financial literacy gap is a serious issue, but I am confident we can address it, by proactively engaging with end investors and giving them access to the latest educational tools and online learning platforms to develop basic finance skills. Europe’s investment management industry has a particularly important role to play in improving investor education, and in doing so, we will be supporting individuals and the regions’ economy over the long term.”

The report, prefaced by Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, is divided into three parts.

• The first part includes contributions from OECD’s Flore-Anne Messy, IOSCO’s Martin Moloney, ESMA’s Natasha Cazenave and Better Finance’s Aleksandra Mączyńska. All highlight the importance of investor education and financial literacy initiatives. 
• The second part provides an updated version of the EFAMA guidelines for investor education initiatives, which were included in the initial 2014 EFAMA Report.  The guidelines have been updated to reflect the experience of EFAMA members active in investor education initiatives, as well as the recently adopted joint EU/OECD financial competence framework for adults.
• The third part is devoted to investor education initiatives undertaken by national associations and corporate members to improve the financial well-being of citizens and help them feel more in control of their financial position. 

Tanguy van de Werve, Director General at EFAMA, comments: “Financial education is not merely necessary but absolutely critical. It is one of the best investments in people’s future as the retirement savings gap is increasing in most European countries. Financial education is also a sine qua non for increasing retail participation in capital markets and empowering citizens”.

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Bernard Delbecque

EFAMA Senior Director, Economics & Research

Email: info@efama.org