Meet the Self-Mades: the high earners who aren’t investing
Despite rising incomes, many high earners from lower socio-economic backgrounds are significantly less likely to invest than their high-earning peers, leaving an estimated £40bn in investment potential untapped, writes Kitty McCormick
Incomes are rising across the UK. However, our latest research reveals a concerning disparity: individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds who now rank among the top 20 per cent of earners are significantly less likely to invest than their high-earning peers. We are calling them the Self-Mades. Despite strong incomes and above-average savings – an average £40,000 per person – the Self-Mades are sitting on a collective £40bn in unrealised investment potential.
To better understand the barriers preventing this successful cohort from effectively building their long-term wealth, we explored the issue in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The findings are stark. Nearly twice as many Self-Mades (28 per cent) don’t invest any of their monthly income, compared to just 15 per cent of other top earners. Even among those who do invest, Self-Mades allocate a smaller share of income – 11 per cent versus 17 per cent.
The Self-Mades also differ from their high-earning peers in the jobs they do, the sectors they work in and the routes they took to get there. Compared to their high-earning peers, they are almost twice as likely to have entered the workforce via apprenticeships or straight from school, rather than through higher education. They’re also twice as likely to now work in sectors like construction and skilled trades, fields that have seen significant income growth. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of high earners working in the construction sector increased nearly three times as fast (23 per cent) as the economy as a whole (eight per cent). At the same time, many of this group are making inroads into white-collar professions with more than a third (35 per cent) being the first in their families to enter industries such as finance, IT and technology.
Why aren’t Self-Mades investing?
This means Self-Mades are exactly the types of individuals who will be driving the success of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, across key growth-driving sectors such as manufacturing and clean energy industries, as well as other vital sectors like digital & technologies and financial services.
Many didn’t grow up in households where money was openly discussed, which has played a critical role in shaping their financial confidence and investment habits. While 74 per cent of top earners from more affluent backgrounds had financial conversations at home, only 52 per cent of Self-Mades did. As a result, just 45 per cent consider themselves financially literate and nearly a third (31 per cent) feel their background puts them at a financial disadvantage.
This lack of early financial education has lasting effects. While almost half (47 per cent) of Self-Mades say they recognise the importance of investing, one in four (22 per cent) don’t know where to begin, and nearly one in ten (eight per cent) feel that “investing is not for people like me”.
How to unlock £40bn of investment potential from high earners
To combat this discrepancy, targeted intervention is needed to help this cohort. That is why Santander is urging the government to embed financial education into apprenticeship programmes – giving future Self-Mades the tools to succeed, not just professionally, but financially as well. By integrating financial education into training and skills schemes, especially apprenticeships, more people will be empowered to make informed financial decisions, build lifelong investment habits and contribute to a more inclusive economy.
We are also calling on the government to base its proposed legislation to support the FCA’s targeted support regime on rich data from Open Finance and prioritise the cohort of 1m Self-Mades as a core group. And finally, to continue raising awareness of the significance of this critical issue, an education campaign is required to clarify the key benefits and risks of investing and to empower individuals to make informed financial decisions.
Financial confidence and opportunity should not be limited by background. By bridging the investment gap among Self-Mades, we have the chance to unlock billions for the UK economy delivering long-term benefits for individuals, communities and industries alike.
Kitty McCormick is head of private banking at Santander