Record inflation in Italy does not accelerate investments, thus decreasing the purchasing power of citizens and the value of their assets. The first obstacle on the road that leads them to the financial markets, needless to say, is the lack of information (it accounts for 27%). The trend emerged fromsurvey carried out by Moneyfarm on the topic.
The current context of high volatility certainly does not help Italian savers to get closer to the markets, despite the significant impact that the constant rise in inflation will have on the cost of living and savings. The war in Ukraine and the consequent energy crisis have, in fact, complicated a scenario already severely compromised by the raw materials crisis: the month of June closed with an increase on an annual basis of the inflation figure of + 8%, against + 1.3% in the same month of 2021, far exceeding analysts’ estimates, which are already not very rosy.
Despite the obvious disadvantages that come with holding the liquidity on current accounts in a period in which the price level has returned to run faster than ever and despite the increasingly wide range of investment solutions, both traditional and digital, available on the market, the majority of Italians continue not to invest their savings. This is the disheartening picture that emerges from a study on financial wellbeing, conducted on the population of two countries, Italy and the United Kingdom, by Moneyfarm, an international investment company with a digital approach, together with Dectech, a company specialized in behavioral studies born at Warwick University.
The main obstacles to investment
For respondents, the main obstacles to investment appear to be insufficient information available on financial products (27%) and willingness to discuss with an advisor before making an investment decision (27%). Precisely the absence of a direct personal relationship with an expert, able to reassure customers and improve the decision-making process, represents one of the barriers to investment with a do-it-yourself platform most frequently indicated by the interviewees (27%) , together with the riskiness of portfolios (18%).
In choosing an investment solution, a fundamental role is inevitably played by costs, which are indicated by the interviewees as a barrier to investment, especially with a traditional platform (20%), less so with hybrid solutions (13%) and more less with a do-it-yourself service (7%). The best value for money is also reflected in the investment finalization rate, which is higher when the investment is made through hybrid solutions (88%) or through do-it-yourself platforms (85%), compared to the more expensive forms traditional investments (75%).