A significant number of people in the UK lack the knowledge, confidence or time to invest despite having the money to do so, research from Rathbones Group has revealed.
The wealth manager’s survey of 3,092 UK adults found three in 10 (30%) say they lack the knowledge to manage their investments themselves. This is most prominent among women, with 36% saying they don’t feel equipped, compared to 25% of men.
The survey showed confidence is lowest among working-age adults, especially those aged 30-44 (35%), before dipping to 24% among those aged 65-80.
Jane Sydenham, senior investment director at Rathbones, said: “As the Government looks to encourage more people to engage with investing, these findings highlight a critical issue – encouraging people to invest only works if they feel confident and willing to make investment decisions.
“Managing investments today involves an understanding of investment risk, tax, long-term planning and competing priorities, which helps explain why uncertainty remains common even among high earning and high wealth groups, and is particularly acute for those balancing busy working lives or dealing with sudden wealth.”
Rathbones’ findings showed higher levels of wealth do not eliminate uncertainty. While confidence improves for some mid-wealth groups, concern rises again among the wealthiest respondents. Nearly a third (30%) of those with £1 million plus in net assets say they do not feel confident managing their investments independently.
Will Mcintosh-Whyte, fund manager for the Rathbone Multi-Asset fund, said: “Investing, carefully risking money to grow it, has fallen out of favour in the UK. Too many of us sit on cash rather than invest in stocks and bonds, which have been proven to deliver better results over the long term. With the UK incredibly underinvested, this means millions are missing out on returns that could leave them better off and better prepared for retirement.”
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