This is what the Swiss invest their money in

The people who invest their money are more and more numerous, younger and younger — and they are especially women. This is what a large study including data from Switzerland reveals. Here are the most interesting conclusions.

Switzerland, a people of investors? Not quite, but we’re getting close. At the request of the world’s largest wealth manager, BlackRock, the research institute YouGov studied investment habits in Europe. The study shows a strong growth in the number of people investing their money in recent years. At the same time, she believes that this trend is also likely to continue in the future.

Across Europe, more than 10% more people can call themselves an “investor” in 2024 compared to two years ago. Growth was strongest in the United Kingdom. Switzerland is in the average with an increase of 11%.

Our country is in fact one of the bastions of investment in Europe: 45% of those surveyed hold at least one investment product, the highest percentage after the Scandinavian markets, where it is sometimes more than one person out of two:

Young men and women

Where does the sharp increase in recent years come from?

Concretely, the proportion of Swiss women who invest their money has increased by almost a fifth compared to the previous year (19%). But more young people are also becoming investors: among 18-24 year olds, the increase was more than a third (36%), and among 25-34 year olds, almost a fifth ( 19%).

This increase among young people and women is encouraging according to BlackRock: “Women are becoming more and more financially independentand this is also reflected in this study. However, it is worth remembering that a significant gender gap persists in the investment space. In Switzerland, only one in three women invest their money, while more than one in two men do so.

La crypto devient mainstream

YouGov also asked European investors how they invest their money. In Switzerland, the following situation emerged: stocks and securities remain the first choice for most investors. However, it is also the only form of investment that has been in decline since 2022 (minus 5%).

Bonds have made the biggest jump over the past two years. This is undoubtedly due to the change in circumstances: as interest rates began to rise significantly from spring 2022, investment products such as government bonds became significantly more attractive again. In Switzerland, they have experienced growth of 77% since 2022.

Cryptocurrencies have also seen strong growth. According to BlackRock, they have now become trendy: in Europe, more than one in five people who invest their money hold cryptocurrencies. In Switzerland, this figure is even higher: 34% of investors own cryptocurrencies, compared to 22% for Europe as a whole.

ETFs, the fastest growing product

What is also striking is the growing popularity of ETFs, especially among the Swiss. Switzerland has the second highest rate of ETF ownership in Europe: 29% of all people who invest their money hold ETFs, compared to 20% on average across Europe.

As the chart above shows, it is mainly women who are driving the growing popularity of ETFs.

The offering of different ETFs has increased in recent years: from currency ETFs to equity ETFs, from commodity ETFs to Bitcoin ETFs and bond ETFs (a portfolio of fixed income securities such as government bonds) , the choice is enormous today. Etienne Weber explains why exchange-traded funds are otherwise so popular:

Online banking and lower entry costs

The study cites the emergence and diffusion of digital platforms and online banks as the main reason for the marked increase in the number of investors. “Today, the costs of being active in the financial markets are significantly lower than a few years ago,” explains Weber. Online banks lower market entry barriers: lower costs and simpler use enable increasing participation in financial markets.

Despite this, there are still many people who prefer not to invest their money. According to the study, this is partly due to a lack of knowledge. On the other hand, many say they do not have enough money. According to Etienne Weber, however, in most cases this is an erroneous belief:

Unlike what happened in the past, today we can participate in the financial market with modest sums such as 10, 50 or 100 francs per month.

Robo-advisors instead of bank advisors

The growing importance of online banks means that advice is also changing radically.

Robo-advisors play an important role in this regard. These are a kind of digital and automated banking advisors, explains Etienne Weber, offered by most digital banks. First of all, you indicate your own data and answer questions such as your age and profession, how much money you are willing to invest and what you want to do with it, what your life plans are and whether one is willing to take risks or rather risk averse. “Then, the Robo-advisor creates a portfolio that suits you as best as possible.”

This variant is certainly very accessible and will play an increasingly important role in the future, according to Weber, but it may not be suitable for all investors. It is for this reason that investment advisors should continue to play an important role.

Translated and adapted by Noëline Flippe