Pension funds continue to be of limited importance in Italy, whereas they play a pre-eminent role in the countries with more highly developed financial systems. Their equity portfolios are equal to about one third of total market capitalization in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The growth of the stock market in Italy over the last five years has benefited from legislative innovations and tax incentives. Far-reaching measures have improved the organization of the market, considerably increasing the liquidity and transparency of trading. In 1998 the ratio of market turnover to capitalization was close to 100%.