Private Capital — Key to retirement provision and transformation in Europe

Private capital plays a central role in the sustainable financing of our retirement system. A joint conference of the ESMT Berlin and the Corporate Governance Institute (CGI) at Frankfurt School focused on how to open up more opportunities for private capital and drive forward the integration of capital markets in Europe.

On November 7, representatives from politics, finance, and academia gathered at the ESMT campus to discuss the pivotal role of private capital markets in the European retirement system and green transformation. The conference was hosted by Prof Dr Jörg Rocholl, President of ESMT Berlin, and Prof Christian Strenger, Director of the CGI, with the support of Frankfurt Main Finance.

The event kicked off with a presentation by Prof Dr Axel Börsch-Supan from the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, who provided a scientific perspective on the current state of the German retirement system and explained the benefits of a funded retirement provision. Afterwards, Dr Florian Toncar (FDP), State Secretary for Finance, spoke about the German government's plans to use the potential of the capital market for transformation and retirement provision, about proposed legislation and pleaded for European thinking and cooperation. Prof Strenger followed on from this in his presentation: he outlined the European capital market perspective and used the Dutch and Swedish pension systems as examples to derive insights for Germany. In his presentation, Prof Strenger made clear that German pension systems urgently need to be supplemented by investments in substantial assets such as shares or real estate.
The first part of the conference was rounded off with a panel discussion featuring Prof Dr Dirk Honold from Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Anja Mikus from KENFO, and Hans Joachim Reinke from Union Investment, moderated by Angela Wefers from the Börsen-Zeitung, providing practical impulses.

Following the lunch break, the conference continued with a second panel discussion titled "The Way Forward from a European Perspective." Prof Jörg Rocholl, Alexander Schulz from the Deutsche Bundesbank, and Robin Winkler from Deutsche Bank discussed the concept of a European Capital Market Union together with Inken Schönauer from F.A.Z. In concluding remarks, Hubertus Väth, Managing Director of Frankfurt Main Finance, summarised the findings of the expert conference and pleaded for closer cooperation between Frankfurt and Berlin.

The many suggestions and questions from the audience encouraged lively discussions. The high level of interest shows the relevance of the topic and gives hope that the course will be set for strengthening the opportunities for private capital in the future.

Due to the success, another joint conference in collaboration between Prof Rocholl and Prof Strenger is already being planned for 2024, this time at campus Frankfurt.

You can download the slides of Prof Christian Strenger's presentation in German here.