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People & Money

The trends shaping investing in the United Kingdom.
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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 (5,040 in the UK) and compared this data to our previous study to identify trends shaping investing in Europe. In the United Kingdom, we see prominent trends playing out.2

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Investing in the United Kingdom today

Today, there are 113M investors across Europe – with 19M in the United Kingdom.3

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36%
36% of adults are investors in the UK – equating to 19.3M people
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21%
The number of investors in the UK has increased 21% since 2022
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29%
Almost a third (29%) of females in the UK invest in some way

Top UK barriers to investing

Financial constraints are more likely to hold back adults in the UK from investing compared to counterparts across Europe.

 

Among non-investors, lack of money is the primary barrier to investing, cited by 70% of adults in the UK, higher than the European average of 65%.

Graphic showing the reasons why people don’t invest.

Product ownership today

ETFs are the UK’s fastest-growing asset class, while stocks and shares remain the most widely held investment product. ETF ownership has increased substantially in the UK since 2022, increasing by 57%. ETFs are now held by 8% of UK investors, up from 6% last year.

66%
66% of UK investors currently holding stocks and shares
26%
26% of UK investors currently holding bonds (e.g. Government or corporate bonds)
19%
19% of UK investors currently holding investment/mutual fund (e.g. single strategy or multi-asset)
17%
17% of UK investors currently holding cryptocurrency
8%
8% of UK investors currently holding ETFs
7%
7% of UK investors currently holding managed portfolio by a digital investment platform/robo adviser
4%
4% of UK investors currently holding crowd funding/venture capital

ETF Spotlight

8% of investors in the United Kingdom hold ETFs.

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1.6M
1.6M adults in the UK invest in ETFs – up from 1M in 2022.
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87%
87% of ETF investors in the UK access funds through a digital platform.4
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80%
Investors aged 18-34 are 80% more likely to hold ETFs than older counterparts.
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57%
57% relative growth in ETF ownership in the UK since 2022.

Investing intent in the next 12 months

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

 

Investors in the UK are confident in the near-term outlook. Any forward-looking statements/estimates may not come to pass.

savings
17%
17% of adults say they are very likely to start investing, or invest more, in the next 12 months.
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1.3M
1.3M new ETF investors are predicted in the UK in the next 12 months.5
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51%
The predicted next wave of investors are expected to be younger, 51% of which are expected to be female.6

2024 People & Money
The trends shaping investing in the UK

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The trends shaping investing in the UK

12022 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.
2Please note the content and assumptions in this webpage are based on data derived directly from our 2022 and/or 2024 surveys.
3Definition 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.
4Digital 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.
5Predicted new ETF investors = non-current ETF holders selecting very likely to start investing/invest more in ETFs in next 12 months.
6Predicted first-time investors = current non-investors who select very likely to start investing in any investment product in next 12 months.