The data, collected by research company 3GEM, also revealed that only 4% of respondents are saving for their children’s future.
And a good chunk of the 41% of respondents who do invest likewise do not have long-term prospects in mind. Only 8.7% said they intend to save for their children’s future. Whereas over 10% admitted their sole purpose for saving was to have some additional holiday funds.
The poll also unearthed several common anxieties around investing, preventing UK residents from diving in.
Around 32% of the individuals who do not invest said their reason for doing so was based on the perception that investing was too big of a gamble.
While 13% admitted their lack of trust in financial professionals was what was holding them back.
At a time when the FTSE 100 has benefited from weaker sterling and has risen by 12% in the last month, UK residents have missed out on a significant opportunity to jump on the investment bandwagon, said invest.com co-founder, Ophir Gertner.
“The findings from this survey paint a startling picture of attitudes to investing in the UK. Not only are so many people confused by where and how to invest, but the lack of trust in financial professionals is a worrying sign for an industry which is simply putting people off investing for their future,” Gertner said.
He added: “With the current post-Brexit uncertainty, it comes as no surprise that over 30% of people see any kind of investing as too risky. However, many are not aware that there are ways of investing which doesn’t just mean you follow the stock market. Our alternative investment platform offers a way of investing which is designed not to be linked to the volatile stock market.”
