Exclusive: UK investors turn to cash savings as financial confidence dips
Brits are taking a cautious approach to investing in 2022 with the vast majority opting to keep money in cash savings.
New data has revealed that just 43 per cent of UK investors are confident they will emerge from the pandemic in a stronger financial position, a ten per cent dip compared to the previous year. With confidence slipping 76 per cent of Brits are putting their money in cash savings, 48 per cent are investing in stocks and shares and 31 per cent are storing their money in property, a survey by trading platform HYCM has shown.
Looking ahead to 2022, many Brits doubled down on their low risk investment strategy with 45 per cent of investors saying they will put more of their money into cash while less than a third of respondents plan to increase their exposure to stocks and shares.
“The last two years have been unusual to say the least,” said Giles Coghlan, chief currency analyst for HYCM.
“With interest rates now rising and inflation soaring, one might expect to see investors opting for a change of tack in 2022. Quite the contrary, our research shows investors have largely stuck to their guns, as their intentions seem to be broadly falling in line with 2021 trends, despite growing concerns about the strength of their portfolios,” he continued.
Over a third of UK investors said their investment strategies had been impacted by the Bank of England’s decision to hike interest rates in December, with the expectation of further raises dampening appetite for risky assets.
While 19 per cent of the survey’s 815 respondents said they already own crypto currency only ten per cent of investors who do not already invest in digital assets plan to do so in 2022.