ECMI Policy Brief no 34 | March 2023 - Unleashing retail investors' potential - the key

The contradiction in UCITS' success is that it allowed for a pan-European collective savings product but also demonstrated the huge diversity in national markets, as UCITS were adapted to the preferences of consumers and the local distribution networks. [...] This is where the role of advice comes in, and the question of whether financial advice can be bundled with the price of the fund product. [...] Given the lack of long-term savings in Europe, the existing EU framework, and the role of investment advice, the European Commission commissioned a study on the market for retail investment products and the role of advice. [...] This is the case for the Netherlands and the UK, which also have the lowest fees. [...] A simple method could be applied, by checking the number of supervisors in charge of authorising and monitoring funds, and the number of authorised funds in a given country.