A global poll sheds light on the attitudes and perceptions that keep people from financially securing their future
People know that long-term happiness means being financially secure in the future. But that doesn’t mean everyone’s preparing for it.
That was the main finding in BlackRock’s latest Investor Pulse Survey, which drew responses from over 27,000 respondents in 13 nations. While 43% said they were positive about their financial future, another 57% said they weren’t investing in any stocks or bonds.
When non-investors were asked why they weren’t doing so, they gave four main reasons:
- Not having enough money to start investing (54%);
- Finding information about investing difficult to understand (64%);
- Being too worried about their current financial situation to think about the future (43%); and
- Being afraid of losing everything (27%)
Focusing on Canadian respondents, the survey found that 57% felt they had insufficient money, 61% were intimidated by investing information, 44% were too worried about their finances today, and 28% dreaded losing everything.
The survey also found some differences in the persistence of such attitudes across generations. The percentage of non-investor respondents saying they didn’t have enough were roughly the same for baby boomers+ (56%), Gen Xers (59%), and millennials (55%). The apprehension at understanding investing terms was also similarly prevalent over all three groups (baby boomers+, 55%; Gen Xers, 59%; millennials, 63%).
But when it came to their current financial situation, baby boomers were far less worried (32%) than Gen Xers (46%) or millennials (49%). Similarly, millennials showed much more concerned about potentially losing everything (49%) than Gen Xers (29%) or baby boomers (28%).
Still, non-investors weren’t totally averse to the idea of investing. When asked whether they want to try it with a low money commitment, 30% of respondents around the world agreed; Canadian non-investors were a little more hesitant (25%).
The poll also showed that people recognize the link between long-term happiness and financial preparedness. Just over four tenths (41%) of all participants said that they’d feel better about their finances if they could better balance their needs today with their needs in the future. More significantly, almost seven out of 10 non-investors (69%) recognized they’d have a better future outlook if they started investing now.
Other highlights of the study:
- 76% of investors who use a financial advisor reported having a positive sense of well-being;
- Among non-investors, women were less confident than men. Notably, they were more likely to report difficulty in understanding financial information (65% among women vs. 53% among men) or fear losing everything (31% vs. 27%)
- Even though Singaporean non-investors led all other countries in three out of the four reasons given for not investing: difficulty in understanding information (66%), worries over their current situation (48%), and fear of losing everything (37%)
- However, they were also the most willing to try out investing with a low money commitment (42%)
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