Investor education initiatives are essential to improve financial literacy and empower citizens to make sound decisions when managing their savings.  If citizens do not have the basic knowledge to understand financial concepts such as risk diversification, compound interest and real rate of return, they won’t know where to start or what to ask should they wish to invest their savings.   A lack of sufficient financial literacy in most European countries helps explain why the vast majority of households don’t directly invest any of their savings in the capital markets..

EFAMA has been at the forefront of efforts to urge authorities to raise financial literacy levels in the general population, through widespread and improved financial and investor education initiatives. The value of these efforts was recognised in the final report of the High Level Forum on the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and the new Commission’s new CMU action plan.  EFAMA will remain active in this area by focusing on target projects.