According to a recent study conducted by Post Finance in collaboration with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), it is mostly men who invest money in the financial markets in this country. 60 percent of men and only 40 percent of women have invested some of their wealth.
Additionally, as the study shows, older people are more likely to invest in securities than younger people. Example Swiss investor belongs to the so-called baby boomer generation, that is, he was born between 1948 and 1964. They tend to hold a university degree or higher and have a monthly household income of more than 7,000 francs and assets of more than 100,000 francs per month.
The study, based on a survey of 3,000 people in Switzerland, reveals that there is also a clear gap between the language regions of Switzerland. In German-speaking Switzerland, more than half (55%) of respondents said they had invested, while the figure was significantly lower in French-speaking Switzerland (39%) and Ticino (38%).
About half of Swiss households invest in securities, according to research published Monday. The other half’s failure to invest is primarily due to a lack of financial knowledge.
70 percent of the respondents stated that they do not have general information about investment products. Two-thirds think their wealth is too low to invest, and 63 percent fear making mistakes. In all categories, the proportion of responses from women was significantly higher than that from men. For this reason, women often believe that they know little about financial products and are more afraid of making mistakes.
The authors see an explanation for this “gender investment gap” in different interests in financial matters. While 45 percent of men state that they are very or very interested in what is happening in the financial markets, this rate is only 19 percent for women.
It comes as no surprise that the proportion of people who invest their money increases with age, the authors of the study said. However, the rate of those born between 1997 and 2004 is “unexpectedly high”.
According to the research, this may be related to their growth at a time when stock markets are experiencing sharp price increases. “For many of this generation, the price drops of the last financial crisis (2007 to 2009) were a long time ago,” study author Andreas Dietrich of HSLU is quoted as saying.
Gen Z more often rely on the advice of friends and parents when making investment decisions, but are also influenced by social media and online platforms. On the other hand, the baby boomer generation is more likely to rely on investment advisors for their investment decisions. (SDA)