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Retail Investment

Retail Investment

Context

Increasing retail participation in capital markets, in order to improve long-term financial outcomes for EU citizens and provide additional sources of funding for the European economy, is a key objective of the SIU. While saving levels are high in the EU, a large share remains in bank deposits and savings accounts and retail participation in capital markets remains low compared to some other jurisdictions such as the US. This stems from a range of factors including low levels of financial literacy, high risk aversion, insufficient access to appropriate advice and complex investment journeys.

Building on earlier efforts under MiFID II and CMU actions, the European Commission has put forward a set of policy initiatives aimed at empowering retail investors and encouraging their participation in capital markets. The Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), on which a political agreement was reached in December 2025, aims to strengthen investor protection and confidence by improving product governance, enhancing disclosures, addressing conflicts of interest and introducing a value for money framework, while facilitating access to suitable and cost-efficient investment products.

In parallel, the Commission set out in September 2025 a Financial Literacy Strategy to improve financial knowledge and skills across the EU, with a view to enabling citizens to make informed financial decisions and participate more effectively in capital markets, notably through enhanced coordination of national initiatives, awareness-raising, monitoring and support for financial education programmes.

A Recommendation on Savings and Investment Accounts (SIAs) was also issued by the Commission in September 2025, providing a blueprint for Member States to establish simple, accessible and potentially tax-advantaged accounts aimed at facilitating retail access to capital market instruments, drawing on best practices from existing national frameworks.

Eurofi documents

Extracted from the main Eurofi publications (Regulatory Updates, Views Magazines and Conference Summaries)

Regulatory Update

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