Niamh Geraghty has seen the shift coming for years. “It’s not sudden,” she says. “This has been building at EU level for some time.” As investment management lead for Deloitte Ireland, she tracks how citizens are becoming more active in managing their money, not just because they want to, but because they need to.
The European Commission’s Savings and Investments Union (SIU) is the most visible expression of this trend, part of a wider recognition that citizens will need to play a more engaged role in securing their financial futures. Across the union, policymakers are trying to unlock retail capital – that is, individual savings – to fund personal retirement and broader economic growth.
“There‘s a growing understanding that governments alone can’t carry the weight of retirement systems any more,” Geraghty explains. “And Ireland has changed too. There‘s more wealth now than in the 1980s. Some of it is first-generation wealth. But people don’t always know what to do with it.”
According to Geraghty, this creates a complex challenge: people have money in the bank, but much of it sits idle, especially when compared to countries like the US or Japan, where individuals routinely invest through 401(k)s and equivalent systems.
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“In Europe, financial literacy is lower,” she says. “That gap between what the state can provide and what people need to provide for themselves is growing.”
Part of the answer lies in education. Deloitte is a supporter of the transition-year financial literacy programme developed by Irish Funds, which reaches hundreds of students each year. “We see it as part of our broader purpose,” Geraghty says. “We‘re a learning organisation. We should be able to pass that on.”
Umar Ahmed, director of EU Affairs at Irish Funds, agrees. “Citizens across Europe are not investing, and Ireland is among the lowest,” he says. “Changing this requires more than awareness. It’s about adapting the culture of how we think about money, retirement and risk.”
Historically, many Irish people saw retirement as a matter for the state. Pay your taxes, collect your pension. But that model is under strain. The SIU strategy aims to shift some of the responsibility to individuals, while also giving them the tools to succeed.
“We need a blend of financial literacy, better access and meaningful incentives,” says Ahmed. In Ireland, the Government’s recent announcement of a national financial literacy strategy has been welcomed by the industry. But, as Ahmed notes, “We‘re not resourced to deliver a nationwide education programme. That needs to come from Government. What we can do is demonstrate what works.”
Technology is also helping. “The likes of Revolut and other digital apps have made access easier,” says Geraghty. “You can buy shares, open accounts and manage your money without ever visiting a bank.” But she is quick to note that access is only part of the equation. “There are still big gaps in understanding. Even people with decent incomes don’t always know how to invest well, or tax efficiently.”
Indeed, the tax treatment of retail investments in Ireland remains a barrier. While global firms such as Vanguard dominate markets abroad, their products are often less accessible or less attractive here due to tax complications. Geraghty sees this as a policy issue, not just a consumer one.
That’s where the EU‘s proposals for a European Investment Savings Account (EISA) come in, a streamlined, digital platform for citizens to invest in regulated, pan-European products. “If investing is too complex, people won’t do it,” says Ahmed. “EISA could be a game-changer.”
Ireland has a central role to play. With over 70 per cent of Europe‘s exchange-traded funds domiciled here, the infrastructure is strong. But there‘s still work to be done to bridge the gap between institutional finance and individual participation.
For both Geraghty and Ahmed, this is about more than money. “We already have income inequality,” Ahmed says. “By not investing, we risk making that inequality even worse. Our work is about giving people the tools to protect their financial wellbeing and to retire with dignity.”
Geraghty agrees. “It’s about democratising access,” she says. “Making sure ordinary people, not just high-net-worth clients, can make smart choices about their future. That’s good for them. And it’s good for the economy too.”
