According to Nordea's investor barometer, most Finnish investors intend to maintain their current risk level in investments for the next six months. However, the share of investors who intend to reduce their risk level has grown from 9% to 13%. The investors' views of how attractive the equity market is and how the Helsinki stock exchange will perform have also diverged.
The most popular form of investment is still a direct investment in equities. More than 80% of the respondents of Nordea’s investor barometer have made such investments. With a share of 75%, the second-most popular form is an investment in a fund. However, the popularity of investment accounts has declined by 15 percentage points compared to the spring of 2014, and now only about 35% of the respondents have one.
- Small investors are still risk-tolerant. The uncertainty surrounding the economy and the market has affected investors' attitudes surprisingly little. This is due to two things: a historically low interest rate level and the more systematic approach to investing that Finns now have. Finns make their investment decisions more rationally and based on a long-term investment plan, says Jari Ohrankämmen from Nordea's Wealth Management.
Investors' views further apart from each other
Small investors are divided in terms of how attractive they think the equity market is. The majority of the respondents consider the equity market attractive, but the share of those who do not has increased. The respondents feel that it is now more difficult than before to make investment decisions.
- Small investors have increasingly different views of the equity market and the performance of the Helsinki stock exchange's general index. More and more investors strongly believe that the general index will be higher than at present in six months. At the same time, however, the share of those who are uncertain has grown. It seems that some investors regard the current market fluctuations as a good time to buy, whereas some think that we may be witnessing a turn in the trend, says Jari Ohrankämmen.
More investments in equities and Finland
Almost 40% of the respondents are planning to increase their direct investments in equities during the next six months. A good one-third are planning to increase their investments in Finland.
- Finland is an interesting market for those investors in particular who are seeking high returns. Investors are planning to increase their investments in the Nordic countries, and to decrease their investments in Eastern Europe, Asia and especially China, says Jari Ohrankämmen.
The investor barometer surveys small investors' investment trends, asking participants about investments that attract them and their approach to risk-taking. A Finnish investor is typically a pensioner or a white-collar worker. One-third of the respondents have an annual household income of less than 50,000 euros and own an investment portfolio of less than 50,000 euros.
More than 1,000 active small investors from among Nordea's customers were interviewed for the barometer, which was conducted as a web survey in Nordea's Netbank in August and September 2015. The survey's results were analysed by CBI Cannon Business Insight Oy.
For further information:
Jari Ohrankämmen, Nordea Wealth Management, +358 50 568 8945
Anni Hiekkanen, Chief Press Officer, +358 9 165 42320