The Fecif European Pension Institute (Fepi), to be chaired by Daphne Foulkes, is determined to take a bigger role in the development of the Pan European Pension Product (Pepp).
“The subject of additional pension provision is now more than ever on the table, with the European Commission’s draft regulation for a Pepp issued in mid-2017 and the recent working paper released by the European Parliament on the same topic,” she said.
“Fecif (Federation of European Advisers and Intermediaries) has had a Pepp working group for some time and been a very active respondent at each stage – and will continue to participate in the debate on the Pepp, particularly concerning the need to align the interests of all potential stakeholders. This work will now come under the newly formed Fepi.”
Foulkes is a former senior pensions expert at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and Fecif board member. She will be assisted at the Institute by Simon Colboc, Fepi’s secretary general. Colboc has held executive positions at BNP Paribas, Fortis and Prudential.
The initial Fepi board also includes industry veteran Vincent Derudder, Fecif’s honorary chairman, and Paul Stanfield, who already holds chief executive roles at Fecif and Feifa (Federation of European Independent Financial Advisers).
The Fepi committee will analyse:
- The evolution of pension regulations across Europe
- Demographic and economic trends impacting pensions
- The offerings developed and rolled out by providers
- Pension issues raised by consumers and advisers across Europe
The technical committee will bring together representatives from the pension’s world, the distribution and advice sector, consumer associations, insurers, investment managers and academic experts.
Florence Legros, chief executive of the ICN Business School and professor at Université Dauphine in Paris (a macro-economist with a focus on pensions) and Guillaume Prache, chief executive of Better Finance (a financial consumer association in Europe) have also confirmed their involvement in Fepi which will provide exclusive analysis to Fepi members.
The Fepi will hold its first formal meeting in Paris on 22 June to bring together all relevant stakeholders, updating them on the political progress and debating some of the current issues with the Pepp.
In addition, this will also be an opportunity to gather different perspectives from within the industry and beyond, on other main issues facing individual pension provision today.
