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People & Money

The trends shaping investing in the Nordics and Europe.

About the research

Capital at risk. All financial investments involve an element of risk. Therefore, the value of investment and the income from it will vary and the initial investment amount cannot be guaranteed.

 

Building on our 2022 survey1 which explored the next wave of ETF investors in Europe, we teamed up with YouGov once more to better understand the trends shaping the present and future of investing across the region. This year, we spoke to 36,730 people across 14 European markets (7,217 in the Nordics) and compared this data to our previous study to identify trends shaping investing in Europe. In the Nordics, we see prominent trends playing out.2

Investing in the Nordics today

Today, there are 113M investors across Europe – with 11M across the Nordics.3

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50%
50% of adults are investors in the Nordics. Nordics are no.1 in Europe for owning investments.
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Top four markets
All Nordic markets significantly higher than European average.
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41%
Four in 10 (41%) of Nordic females now hold at least one investment, the highest rate across Europe and peaking in Sweden at 50%.

Top Nordics barriers to investing

Adults in the Nordic markets are more likely to invest than the rest of Europe, but have a greater need for education.

 

Across the Nordic markets, the primary barrier to investing is a perceived lack of money, cited by 65% of non-investors. This is in line with the European average (65%), although the level is higher in Finland at 74% and lower in Denmark at 58%.

 

Currently, 56% of 18-34 year-olds who are not investing cite a lack of know-how4 as the primary hurdle. Among over 35s, lack of money was the main reason, cited by 68%.

Graphic showing the reasons why people don’t invest.

Product ownership today

In this section any forward-looking statements/estimates may not come to pass.

 

As in most European markets, stocks and shares are the top investment product in the Nordic markets, held by 66% of investors – this rises to 77% in Denmark.

 

ETFs saw the highest level of growth among Nordic investors, rising +18% amongst all adults relative to 20222, driven by more women investing (up 49% compared to 5% amongst men).

66%
66% of Nordic investors currently holding stocks and shares
50%
50% of Nordic investors currently holding investment/mutual fund
19%
19% of Nordic investors currently holding ETFs
13%
13% of Nordic investors currently holding cryptocurrency
9%
9% of Nordic investors currently holding investment portfolio by digital platform/robo adviser
8%
8% of Nordic investors currently holding bonds (e.g. Government or corporate bonds)
5%
5% of Nordic investors currently holding crowd funding/venture capital

ETF Spotlight

Over 2.2M hold ETFs across Nordics, that’s 1 in 5 investors.

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70%
70% of ETF investors in the Nordics access ETFs through a digital platform.5
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19%
On average, 19% of investors across Nordic markets own ETFs.
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18%
18% increase in ETF investors across Nordic markets relative to 2022.2
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25%
25% increase in ETF investors in Sweden relative to 2022.2

Investing intent in the next 12 months

Investors in the Nordics are confident in the outlook next year.

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21%
21% of consumers are very likely to start investing, or invest more, in the next 12 months.
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0.4M
Over 0.4M new, first time ETF investors6 predicted across the Nordics over the next 12 months.

2024 People & Money
The trends shaping investing in the Nordics

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The trends shaping investing in the Nordics

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1 2022 data refers to the previous 'Next wave of ETF investors' survey conducted by YouGov between 12 August 2022 and 8 February 2023. The content and assumptions in this report are based on data derived directly from these surveys.
2 Please note the content and assumptions in this webpage are based on data derived directly from our 2022 and/or 2024 surveys.
3 Definition of an investor within this report: A respondent who currently has any of the following investment products: stocks and shares, investment/mutual fund (e.g. single strategy fund or multi-asset fund, etc.), bonds (e.g. Government or corporate bonds), exchange traded funds (ETFs), managed investment portfolio by a digital investment platform/robo adviser, crowd funding/venture capital or cryptocurrency.
4 Lack of knowledge/understanding = Any of the following responses: I do not have enough knowledge of what to invest in, I do not know how to invest, I do not know where to get started, I do not know what the benefits are.
5 Digital platform = respondent accesses ETFs via any of the following: ETFs via an online investment platform/broker, their bank’s online investment platform, or a robo adviser.
6 Predicted new ETF investors = non-current ETF holders selecting very likely to start investing/invest more in ETFs in next 12 months.