A poll of 2,000 UK adults found 30% admit their financial literacy is ‘bad’ and over half see wealth as a barrier to pension investment and beyond
Half of Brits worry about investing their money – due to concerns about losing it, economic uncertainty and being overwhelmed by jargon. A poll of 2,000 adults found 30% claim their knowledge of investing is ‘bad’ and 37% reckon it’s only reserved for the ‘super rich’.
Others feel investing is something mostly high-net-worth individuals and city bankers do. As a result, 55% feel it acts as a barrier for others to do the same. Despite this, 83% of those polled have a pension, but 58% of them are not aware of the investment options available via it.
The insights come as the FTSE index reached record highs, and the amount that can be saved in a cash ISA tax free each year is set to go from £20,000 to £12,000 for under 65s.
Commissioned by workplace pension scheme Nest, the research found 74% believe it’s important that everyone from all income levels has access to investment opportunities. The most underrepresented groups when it comes to investing were people who identify as working class (47%) and women (30%).
Gavin Perera-Betts, chief customer officer at Nest Pensions said: “A lot of people think investing is only for those in suits in the city, but that’s simply not true. If you have a workplace pension, and most working people do, you’re already an investor.”
He added: “Nest was set up so everyday workers had somewhere good to save for their retirement. We’ve continued our Everyday Investor campaign because we wanted to show people that investing isn’t something separate, scary or exclusive.”
The research found 85% of Gen Z are keen to learn more about investing, compared to just 38% of Boomers. But 83% of Gen Zs – and 63% of all adults – reckon if people could see where their money was being put it would make them more likely to invest.
Those scared of investing said they would have less concerns if there was clearer information available, simpler platforms or tools to use, and education and resources to improve financial knowledge.
Despite 62% of the youngest generation having felt scared or daunted when considering investing, 28% of them currently have a cryptocurrency investment according to the OnePoll.com research. Meanwhile the typical adult has some investments in stocks and shares (38%), and real estate (17%).
One Gen Z who is already an investor through her pension, is 28-year-old charity worker, Lauren Thorpe, who was inspired to invest after seeing TikTok and Instagram posts from others. Having never had any financial education in school, she was scared at first, but began putting £20 to £30 a month in a stocks and shares ISA.
Lauren, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, who worked as a teacher for six years prior to her charity work currently earns £30,000 a year and started investing three years ago.
She found a company called Friends That Invest – which teaches masterclasses on investing – and bought a book on the topic, before making her first investment in March 2023 into the S&P 500 – an index fund which tracks the top 500 companies in America.
Lauren now puts around £200 of her £2,000 monthly take home pay towards investing and has a goal to invest as much of her income as possible in her 30s and 40s so she can retire early.
She said: “When I reach my investment goal I want to ‘soft retire’ where you stop the hard 9-5 graft and make your job more passion based.
“I think a lot of people in my generation are scared of investing, because we haven’t had any education about it in school or college – it’s fear of the unknown.
“I knew my pensions were invested, but I know I have a lot more to learn about them. I changed it to a riskier portfolio because I have plenty of time to ride the ups and downs of the market.”
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