PhD Defence Carien de Jager 'Consumer protection through information'

Consumer investment products have become essential to the daily life of EU citizens. Yet such products have been systematically mis-sold to consumers across the EU. The 'woekerpolis' scandal in the Netherlands is just one example. To prevent such mis-sellings in the future the current EU and national regulation heavily relies on information disclosure by financial institutions. Such information is supposed to empower consumers to achieve their investment objectives. Is information disclosure regulation, however, fit for its purposes in the light of empirical studies of consumer behaviour?

The information leaflets supplied with complex financial products fall short of the mark. People still run a substantial risk of losing money. This is the conclusion of Carien de Jager. According to De Jager, financial information leaflets are inadequate for protecting consumers and the government overestimates them. Complex financial products are combination products that involve investments, such as investment funds and life insurance contracts with an investment component. Many of them are unsuitable for consumers, and providing information does little to change this, says De Jager. She studied ten different Dutch, German, English and European information leaflets.

For the dissertation, click this link.