The financial services industry needs to change the UK’s mindset towards investing as it continues to be a chore for Brits.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) carried out a 2,000-person survey and found Brits spend more time choosing a holiday (31%), buying a house (26%), doing laundry (24%), buying a car (24%) or checking social media (19%) than on their investments.
The survey also found that 37% of UK adults hold investments of between £100 and £50,000 ($62,042, €58,960).
Almost half (44%) of those wished they had spent more time researching their investments before making a decision, but didn’t do so because it’s “time consuming” and “too complicated”.
The findings also revealed that from those adults that held investments, 27% said they were more likely to invest in an “investment opportunity” with a limited time frame, such as “[being] only available for the next 24 hours”.
Alarmingly, 22% of respondents said they haven’t checked or don’t know if their investment is FSCS-protected, putting them at risk of choosing investments with no possibility of compensation if something were to happen to the investment platform or provider.
Fun
The survey also found 11% of British investors said they invest because their friends are doing it, with 26% saying they find it “fun”.
Some 14% of Brits who invested said they chose their investments because they were promoted by a celebrity or influencer via social media.
Brits aged between 18 and 24 who have made a financial investment were more likely to invest while watching TV/Netflix (13%), at the pub (11%), or coming back from a night out (7%) compared to those over 25.
Lila Pleban, spokesperson for the FSCS, said: “With almost two-in-five adults holding investments in the UK, it’s clear there’s a growing appetite to start investing as online platforms are making it easy and accessible for everyone.
“But as our findings show, carving out time to research and look into investment opportunities is not always top of people’s to-do lists and unfortunately, puts them at a higher risk of being scammed or putting their money with an unprotected platform or provider.”
Mark Steward, director of enforcement of the FCA, added: “Fraudsters will always find new ways to target consumers, so make sure you do your homework and spend some time doing research. Just a few minutes can make a big difference to your investment choices.”
