SSMA’s response to consultation on European blueprint for savings and investment accounts
The SSMA has responded to a consultation from the European Commission on a European blueprint for savings and investment accounts that was launched to collect experiences from, as well as views and recommendations on, such accounts from EU member states. Within the European Savings and Investment Union, one ambition is to increase retail investors’ participation in the capital market. Therefore, the EU is looking to implement a savings and investment account model at EU level with some form of incentive for retail investors.
The SSMA has responded to the consultation based on our experiences from the Swedish investment and savings account (ISK). In our response, we emphasize, among other things, that a savings and investment account can by all means increase the interest, and the participation, in capital market investments among retail investors. It is however important to avoid making it too complicated or inducing different types of limitations such as geographical or the possibility to make withdrawals.
We also emphasized the importance to take into consideration other parts of the financial ecosystem, and if needed also develop these, since they play a significant role for the end result, as well as the importance to not implement any measures that could have a negative impact on the EU countries which already have introduced savings and investment accounts successfully.