The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) has applauded the Financial Planning Standards Board Europe’s (FPSB Europe) sponsorship of the BETTER FINANCE Brussels conference on investor education.
FPSB Europe, composed of eight European member organisations* owns the global CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification outside the USA, the UK license for which is held by the CISI.
Efforts to improve financial education and literacy and build consumer protections into automated advice was on the agenda for the Conference and fully supported by FPSB Europe members.
The conference focused on investor empowerment in the digital age, and explored how regulators, professional bodies, financial services firms and consumer groups can make a difference in the lives of EU citizens.
Jacqueline Lockie, CFPTM Chartered FCSI, CISI Head of Financial Planning said: "Aleksandra Maczynska, executive director of Better Finance described some of the findings in their research report issued today. They undertook a mystery shopper exercise with various robo advice platforms. Clients with the same situation and risk appetite saw costs vary widely even where the portfolios recommended were very similar and composed mostly of ETFs. The same client research showed wide variation in equity allocation which varied from 20-80% equity asset allocation with same client profile.
“Therefore anything we can do as financial planning professionals to look at ways of improving investor education both in financial planning and robo advice as well as simplifying the way products and investments work to aid better understanding for all alongside sharing share best practice is to be applauded.”
“FPSB Europe is pleased to contribute to a greater understanding of consumer needs in the areas of investor protection, financial education and literacy, and fintech, through our sponsorship of today’s conference,” said FPSB Europe chairperson Marc van Poeteren. “Our goal is to work cooperatively with regulators and like-minded organizations to create an ecosystem for financial wellbeing that includes providing fintech-enabled financial advice in a human-led, digitally-powered way.”
The conference consisted of two panel discussions. Kate Holmes, CFP, Director of Stakeholder Engagement at FPSB, moderated a discussion on how the fintech revolution can empower EU citizens as savers and investors. A second panel delved into ways to empower individual investors to make better choices. BETTER FINANCE, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users, hosted the one-day event.
*About FPSB Europe
FPSB Europe consists of the eight European member organizations of FPSB:
Österreichischer Verband Financial Planners (Austria)
Association Francaise des Conseils en Gestion de Patrimoine Certifiés (France)
Financial Planning Standards Board Deutschland (Germany)
Financial Planning Standards Board Ireland
Federatie Financieel Planners (The Netherlands)
Swiss Financial Planners Organization (Switzerland)
Finansal Planlama Derneği (Turkey)
Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (United Kingdom)