The Protection of Financial Services Users: The Case of Insurance Companies and Investment Funds
Zaštita korisnika finansijskih usluga: slučaj osiguravajućih društava i investicionih fondova
Abstract
The users of financial services generally do not have the required expertise that they need to process the available financial information when they make financial and investment decisions, and as such they represent a sensitive category of financial market participants, which may intentionally or unintentionally be exposed to manipulation. If the beneficiaries do not have relevant and accurate information, the relationship between the provider and the service user is characterised with information asymmetry, and because of these reasons adequate regulatory instruments are necessary in order to protect the interests of financial services users. In the financial services sector, the development of a long-term successful relationship between providers and users of services should be based on mutual trust and users’ feel that they have received a value for the price paid. The aim of the paper is to highlight the modern ways of improving the protection of the interests of consumers of financial services provided by insurance companies and investment funds. The paper analyses the reasons for protection of consumers of financial services, specifics of insurance as financial service, the importance of trust as a key factor for the attraction of service users and the basic principles of operation of investment funds in the developed and the domestic financial market are compared. The particular attention is given to insurance companies and investment funds in terms of regulatory and other mechanisms of governments that are related to the protection of insureds and investment funds investors.
Apstrakt
Korisnici finansijskih usluga uglavnom nemaju potrebno stručno znanje koje im je neophodno da obrade raspoložive finansijske informacije prilikom donošenja finansijskih i investicionih odluka, te predstavljaju osetljivu kategoriju učesnika na finansijskom tržištu, koja može namerno ili nenamerno biti izložena manipulisanju. Ukoliko korisnici usluga nemaju relevantne i ažurne informacije, u odnosu između davaoca i korisnika usluge javlja se informaciona asimterija, te je zbog navedenih razloga neophodno adekvatnim regulatornim instrumentima zaštiti interese korisnika finansijskih usluga. U sektoru finansijskih usluga, razvijanje dugoročnog uspešnog odnosa između davaoca i korisnika usluga treba da bude bazirano na poverenju i osećaju korisnika da je dobio vrednost za cenu usluge koju je platio. Cilj rada je da se ukaže na savremene načine unapređenja zaštite interesa korisnika finansijskih usluga u poslovanju osiguravajućih društava i investicionih fondova. U radu se analiziraju razlozi zaštite korisnika finansijskih usluga, specifičnosti osiguranja kao finansijske usluge, značaj poverenja kao ključnog faktora privlačenja korisnika usluga i kompariraju osnovni principi poslovanja investicionih fondova na razvijenim i domaćem finansijskom tržištu. Posebna pažnja posvećuje se poslovanju osiguravajućih društava i investicionih fondova sa aspekta regulatornih i drugih mehanizama vlada država koji se primenjuju u funkciji zaštite osiguranika i investitora u fondove.
References
- ALFI (2013), How UCITS funds protect investors, Association of the Luxembourg fund industry, http://www.alfi.lu/investor-centre/investor-protection/how-ucits-funds-protect-investors, pristupljeno 22.03.2013.
- Consumer Protection and Consumer Choice. (2004), Consumer protection and the Single Market: A fresh approach to breaking the deadlock, The European Financial Services Round Table, Brussels, http://www.efr.be/documents%5Cpublication%5C09.2004.02%20Consumer%20Protection%20-%20Breaking%20the%20deadlock%201Feb2004.pdf, pristupljeno 10. 02. 2013.
- Cooper, R.W. and Frank, G.L. (2001), “Key ethical issues facing the property and casualty insurance: has a decade made a difference?”, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Journal, Vol. 54, No. 2, str. 99-111.
- Coulter, K.S. and Coulter, R.A. (2003), „The effects of industry knowledge on the development of trust in service relationships“, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol 20, No. 1, str. 31-43.
- Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and amending Council Directives 90/619/EEC, 97/7/EC and 98/27/EC.
- Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts – Statement by the Council and the Parliament re Article 6 (1) – Statement by the Commission re Article 3 (1), first indent.
- Edelman Trust Barometer. (2011), Annual Global Opinion Leaders Study, Edelman, New York, NY.
- EFAMA (2013), European Fund and Asset Management Association, http://www.efama.org, pristupljeno 22.02.2013.
- Evropska komisija (2013), Investment Funds, http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/investment/index_ en.htm, pristupljeno 21.02.2013.
- Financial Services Consumer Panel Research Report: Consumer Concerns in Great Britain, Financial Services Consumer Panel, London, http://www.fs-cp.org.uk/publications/pdf/consumer_research_gb_ report_spring_03.pdf, pristupljeno 15.02.2013.
- Historical ACSI Scores. (2012), American Customer Satisfaction Index, Ann Arbor, MI.
- ICI (2013), Understanding the Role of Mutual Funds Directors, http://www.ici.org/pdf/bro_mf_directors.pdf, pristupljeno 21.02.2013.
- Investment Company Fact Book. (2012), Investment Company Institute, Washington, DC.
- KPMG (2012), The perfect UCITS, KPMG Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Luxembourg.
- Ljubojević, Č. (2001), Menadžment i marketing usluga, Želnid, Beograd.
- Marinković, S., Stanković, Lj. (2011), „Institucionalna osnova zaštite korisnika finansijskih usluga u Srbiji“, Marketing, Vol. 42, No. 4, str. 257-267.
- Narodna banka Srbije, Izveštaj o radu Centra za zaštitu i edukaciju korisnika finansijskih usluga, http://www.nbs.rs/internet/latinica/63/63_8/izvestaj_ januar_jun_2012.pdf, pristupljeno 20.02.2013.
- Narodna banka Srbije, Zaštita korisnika, http://www.nbs.rs/internet/cirilica/63/index.html, pristupljeno 20.02.2013.
- 19.Njegomir, V. (2006), „Osiguranje života – marketing aspekti i specifičnosti“, Marketing, Vol. 37, No. 1, str. 29-35.
- Njegomir, V. (2011), Osiguranje, Ortomedics book, Novi Sad.
- Parasuraman A., Zeithaml, V. A. and Berry, L. L. (1985), “A Conceptual of Service Quality and its Implications for Future Research”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49, No. 4, str. 41-50.
- Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., and Berry, L.L. (1980), “SERVQUAL: a multiple item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality“, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64, No. 1, str. 12-37.
- Singh, J. and Sirdeshmukh, D. (2000), “Agency and Trust Mechanism in Consumer Satisfaction and Loyalty Judgments“, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 28, No. 1, str. 150-167.
- Stromberg, G, (1998), Investment funds in Canada and consumer protection: Strategies for the millennium, Office of Consumer Affairs, Industry Canada, Ottawa, ON.
- Wells, B.P. and Stafford, M.R. (1995), “Service quality in the insurance industry: Consumer perceptions versus regulatory perceptions”, Journal of Insurance Regulation, Vol. 13, No. 4, str. 462-477.
- Zakon o investicionim fondovima, „Sl. glasnik R. Srbije“ 46/2006, 51/2009 i 31/2011.
- Zakon o zaštiti korisnika finansijskih usluga, „Sl. glasnik R. Srbije“ 36/2011.
