This article was first published in the 23rd edition of the Fact Book on 24 June 2025.

Towards a successful Savings and Investments Union 

A successful Savings and Investments Union has the potential to transform how European citizens save and invest. However, its success hinges on making investment accessible and understandable for everyone. For retail investors – particularly younger generations and first-time savers - investing remains unfamiliar territory, intimidating and unnecessarily complex. As a result, too many EU households remain on the sidelines, with their savings stuck in deposit accounts or even unused altogether. 

The real challenge is not convincing people why they should invest, but rather building solutions that make the process simple, accessible and understandable. Retail investors shouldn’t need to become experts to take control of their financial future. The investment experience should be designed around the way that people live and make decisions today. This means online, guided by clear digital experiences, with tools that help them understand and navigate options, not overwhelm them with technical detail. 

Too often, policymakers and regulators assume that more information is the same as better. Yet for most people, what matters is understanding. They want to know “Is this right for me?”, “What will it cost?”, “What are my options?” and “How do I get started?”. 

Better regulation as an enabler 

Regulation can play a crucial role in facilitating access and fostering trust, but when it creates excessive hurdles and confusion, it risks undermining its objective. Ultimately, it can become a deterrent, rather than an enabler. 

The RIS (Retail Investment Strategy) is a case in point. While its intention is to empower retail investors and increase their participation in European capital markets, the current proposal is in danger of creating greater complexity and more bureaucracy. A key area of focus here is the investment journey – the full process and experience that retail investors have to go through when deciding to invest - from initial interest to ongoing engagement. A successful investment journey should be intuitive, informative and accessible, supporting investors each step of the way. In practice, this means giving investors the information they need, not overwhelming them with excessive disclosures, risk warnings and technical jargon.  

Rather than simplifying the investment journey, the RIS could – albeit unintentionally - further complicate the investment process. As currently drafted, it could extend its length, add further administration and disclosures, and provide investors with information that obscures, rather than clarifies. Simplification here is not merely a compromise; it’s a prerequisite for easier access. Sometimes, less is more. 

No need for new toys, build on what works 

This propensity to over-engineering now threatens to extend to products themselves. Recent discussions around the potential creation of a new ‘simple, low-cost product’ may be well-intentioned, but risk missing the mark entirely. The idea is to develop a streamlined, easy-to-understand product for retail investors in order to build trust and increase participation. Yet this overlooks a critical fact; Europe already has a globally respected, simple and accessible investment product - UCITS. 

UCITS funds are widely regarded as transparent, well-regulated and investor-friendly. Their strong investor protections, standardisation and portability across the EU have made them a cornerstone of the retail investment landscape for decades. Introducing yet another product risks fragmenting the market, creating confusion for investors and undermining the success and recognition of the UCITS brand. 

In reality, such simple and low-cost products already exist, including - but not limited to - passive ETFs, many of which fall under the UCITS framework. Recent EFAMA statistics1 show that all inflows into equity UCITS now go to ETFs. This shows that market demand is already driving adoption of low-cost solutions, without the need for regulatory engineering. The case for yet another product framework has therefore been far from convincingly made. 

Rather than inventing something new, the priority should be to make existing investment solutions more accessible, particularly by improving how investors can interact with them. This means focusing less on the products themselves, and more on the accounts and infrastructure through which people invest. To that end, ISAs (Investment Savings Accounts) offer a promising path forward. 

Evidence from the Nordic region - particularly Sweden and Finland - illustrates the powerful impact ISAs can have. These accounts have helped turn millions of savers in Sweden and Finland into investors.2 The success of ISAs lies in their simplicity and usability; individuals can manage their investments through familiar banking applications, switch between funds without triggering tax consequences and monitor their savings through clear, intuitive dashboards. These features make investing feel like a natural extension of personal finance, not a specialist activity. 

Importantly, these accounts are not tied to new products or labels. Rather, they offer a modern, tax-efficient wrapper for a broad range of regulated investment products, such as UCITS. It is therefore positive that the European Commission is considering ways to encourage Member States to create national ISAs. What is clear is that ISAs - when well-designed - can support long-term investing, encourage better financial habits and bring citizens closer to capital markets. 

Conclusion: from red tape to real impact 

As EU policymakers move forward with planned reforms, they should not judge success by the number of new products created or disclosures issued, but by how easily and confidently people are able to invest. The focus should be on real outcomes; getting more citizens to participate, helping them prepare for retirement and making investing feel relevant and accessible to all. 

Ultimately, the answer is not more, but better, regulation, designed with the investor’s perspective in mind. Policymakers should resist the urge to create yet another product, label or disclosure template. Instead, the focus should be on reducing friction, building confidence and increasing financial literacy. Citizens should view capital markets not as something alien or risky, but as a natural part of building their financial future. 

The experience of countries such as Sweden and Denmark shows that significantly higher retail participation is achievable, and with it a genuine pathway to a successful Savings and Investments Union. Europe doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel; it simply needs to replicate what already works. 

Europe has the blueprint for success. It’s time to follow it.

Notes to Editors

Access the original article here.