(Finance) – Also in 2024, thanks to the increased complexity of the financial markets and the uncertainties relating to economic growth and geopolitical tensions, Italy confirms the positive trend of a growing interest in financial issues by investors and savers. This is stated by thePictet Asset Management Edufin Observatorycreated together with FINER Finance Explorer. Of the total sample, Italians today declare themselves very or somewhat interested in 88% of cases, compared to 76% in 2021. However, the generation gap is evident when it comes to investing or keeping liquid savings. Investors’ interest in finance remains largely related to the relationship between age and financial assets.
Inadequate knowledge
The complexity of the market generated by a more uncertain and volatile macro scenario in the last three years has increased, across all segments, the percentage of those they do not consider their knowledge sufficiently adequate in financial matters, with an increase of 11% from 2021 to today. In particular, among the younger generations, over 40% want to increase their knowledge on the subject. For the first time this year, the percentage of those who declare that they inform themselves daily or weekly on economic-financial topics has reached 38%, exceeding that of those who dedicate themselves exclusively during exceptional one-off events (equal to 33% in 2024).
The choice of contents
Despite the greater interest in the subject and a better awareness of their shortcomings, Italian investors and savers they continue to not find the appropriate tools to deepen and broaden their knowledge financial. In fact, if in 2021 the difficulty in understanding the subject was in first place (31% of those interviewed), from 2022 the latter has given way to the perception of a lack of content or references considered reliable, which increased by 17% in the last 3 years and today indicated as the main obstacle by 35% of the sample. In particular, in the last 12 months, the perception of scarcity of quality content and trusted contacts has increased by up to 5% in all segments of investors and types of savers.
The role of social networks
Among the tools used to obtain information, i social media are confirmed as a privileged and increasingly used channelgoing from 27% in 2021 to 36% in 2024, followed in second place by digital events, preferred by 24% of respondents. On the other hand, the constant decline of press and TV in the media diet continues, as channels of economic-financial information: if in 2021 these two sources were chosen by 32% of the sample, in 2024 the percentage fell to 18%. In general, an increasingly greater centrality of social networks as information tools is reconfirmed across the sample (investors and otherwise), regardless of generation and assets: WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram (which grows significantly compared to 2022 ) the most used, followed by LinkedIn, Spotify and Tik Tok. Here too, the generational differences with respect to social media preferences are particularly marked: for Boomers (1940-1964) and GenX (1965-1980) Whatsapp and Facebook remain predominant, while for GenY (1981-1996) and GenZ (1997-2010) Instagram he is the absolute favorite with over 35% of the votes.
Overall, the growth of trust towards social networks; if in 2021 only 2% of the sample expressed trust in social media, in 2024 it rose to 27%. Immediately behind we find friends and acquaintances, who maintain their first position (49%) as trusted contacts for savings and investments. Finally, looking at the levels of trust of Italians towards institutions and operators in the financial sector, schools and institutions collect the majority of preferences. A figure, the latter, which is reflected in the inclusion of financial education in schools, appreciated by 58% of the public.
The attitude to saving
The research focused on the attitude to saving, highlighting the objectives, fears and difficulties in putting money aside before deciding how to invest it. Starting from the objectives, 41% of the sample declared that they wanted to increase their financial knowledge to realize your life plansfollowed by 25% who want learn to save and 23% who want to know how to invest their savings correctly. In fact, in order to make your dreams come true, it is essential to first be able to save for create long-term financial stability and a “safety cushion” in case of unforeseen events more soon; these, in fact, were the two main reasons given by 60% of those interviewed as to why it is important to save. However, the combination of inflation, rate rises, energy crisis and economic uncertainty that has characterized the last three years has made it particularly difficult to set aside a portion of savings. To confirm this, 46% of the sample declared that they were unable to save, while for the remaining 33% of cases, only 12% managed to save more than 10% of their salary.
The research highlights that the level of financial anxiety appears proportional to financial education: the poorer the knowledge of the subject, the lower the perceived economic-financial risks. This correlation is also very evident in the case of supplementary pensionwhere 78% of the sample declares to don’t think about it at allalthough nowadays there is a lot of talk about the importance of a supplementary pension, especially for the younger generations who, for their part, do not seem to worry about it; 55% of GenY and GenZ say they haven’t thought about it yet.
Investment choices
Also in 2024, the greater complexity of the market, combined with the difficulty in identifying content of values and trusted advisors, has generated a strong bias with respect to the investment time horizon. In a year in which the stock market began to perform well again, the short-term vision, combined with the idea of a safe return offered by Government Bonds, continued to prevail. Among investors, iThe bulk of the portfolios were loaded with Italian government bonds and securities (47%) followed by real estate investments (22%), with just 9% stocks (lower than 11% in 2023), showing poor risk diversification.
Looking then at the propensity to invest by age group, the “paradox” of long-term investing persistswhere although a young person is the most suitable person to invest in shares, research evidence shows that shares grow in attractiveness with age. Similarly, young people appear less interested in (and less aware of) tools considered ideal for starting their long-term financial planning and investment journey: Accumulation Plans (PACs).
Looking instead at the trends relating to investment instruments, in recent years we have witnessed a progressive development of the digitalisation of finance. To date, over 40% of Boomers and GenXs use online banking, while among younger people this tool is supported and, in the case of GenZ, surpassed by online trading and the purchase of crypto currencies. Even in this case we find ourselves faced with a paradox, where younger generations with a more limited level of financial knowledge often invest in very high risk instruments in a completely unaware manner.
(Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash)