New research has shed fascinating light on investor behaviour. If you are currently considering asset management options in Cheshire or Oswestry, the Capital.com study assessed how consumers across the country evaluate financial risk.
The “Fear or Fortune?” survey of over a thousand people found that 34% of conservative investors are wary of straying outside of savings accounts, due to fears around scams. Such fears outweighed other concerns about economic uncertainty, market volatility and product complexity. With 80% of investors expressing nervousness about investing, many people are more exercised by fear than by market conditions or product performance.
As such, many hundreds of billions of pounds could be lying dormant in savings accounts, estimated at around £610 billion by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Barclays. Of those who restricted themselves to traditional savings accounts, the study identified only around 13% with wider investment confidence. Whilst fraud is certainly a major problem, costing the UK £1.17 billion in 2024, another issue relates to people’s general lack of financial knowledge, rather than just their appetite for risk. Research found that nearly 90% of those polled would struggle to differentiate between a FTSE-listed company and a speculative crypto asset.
To address this education gap, the government has sought to expand financial literacy as part of its Financial Inclusion Strategy. This seeks to get people comfortable with investing, and increase familiarity with stocks and shares, from an early age. The government’s strategy includes moves to introduce compulsory financial literacy teaching by 2028.
