Keynote speech by Commissioner Albuquerque at the international Conference “Towards a Savings and Investment Union” organised by Better Finance

European Commission -Speech [Check Against Delivery] Keynote speech by Commissioner Albuquerque at the international Conference “Towards a Savings and Investment Union” organised by Better Finance Brussels, 28 March 2025 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Many thanks to Better Finance for inviting me to speak today. I am delighted to be here, to express my support for the important work that you are doing in defending the interest of retail investors and making sure their voices are heard in our initiatives. Investors, including retail investors, are an essential part of our capital markets. There is no market without those buying and selling the instruments available. And yet, our regulatory framework in many ways tends to consider these retail investors purely in their capacity as “consumers of financial services”, who can only be allowed to access financial products after completing lengthy forms and passing a battery of tests designed to “protect” them. We sometimes fail to see them, and fail to look at them, as a strength to diversified and resilient markets. And we fail to recognise that they should be allowed to take decisions and chose their paths. And while we are focused on shielding these “consumers of financial products” from perceived risks, we are failing to provide them with services and products that meet their specific needs and investment horizons. I believe we all share the objective of empowering people to invest better, ensure their...