BVI on the ECON vote on the Retail Investment Strategy

On 20 March 2024, the EU Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) voted on the Retail Investment Strategy and decided against a ban on commissions and in favour of the compromise proposal for a more practical benchmarking tool according to the rapporteur‘s proposal. In April, the EU Parliament will decide on its final position.

Thomas Richter, CEO of the German Investment Funds Association BVI, comments:

‘The ECON has made the right decision. The EU Commission would not achieve its objectives with a ban on commissions and would even harm small investors. This decision allows investors to choose freely between different advisory models. It is good that the ECON rejects the one-sided focus on costs in the planned benchmarking in distribution. Because this would come at the expense of product quality and innovation. For savers, the expected return and the quality of a product are just as important as the fees.‘