How Many People Invest in the UK?

The number of Britons actively investing in the stock market is shockingly low. According to Finder, in 2023, only 18% of us actively invested – although there was an increase to 23% in 2024.

When you look at how many people invest in the UK, the numbers reveal a surprisingly sparse investing landscape. Why are so few of us invested, and what’s driving this reluctance to use one of humanity’s greatest wealth-building tools: the stock market?

How many people invest in the UK? The latest statistics

54% of UK adults have invested at some point in their life as of 2025, up from 51% in 2024 and 42% in 2023.
Over a quarter have invested in stocks and shares as of 2025 – making it the most popular investment type.
66% of Gen Z (18-27 year olds) have invested before.
9% have invested in cryptocurrency.
9% have invested in index funds.

Wow… these numbers are… quite depressing actually. It’s no wonder the cost-of-living crisis has been accentuated so badly in recent years. With 91% of the population never having invested in index funds (and we can assume an even greater proportion who are not actively investing into index funds every month), I’m not surprised that the cost-of-living crisis has hit so many people so hard.

A note on index funds

Index funds are the easiest, cheapest way to access the wealth building potential of the stock market. (Keeping your investment fees low is also critical for long-term returns.) Don’t bother trying to time the market; it’s probably fair to say that up to 95% of day traders (those who buy and sell stocks on a minute or hourly timeframe) lose money. Unless you’re a genius (or Warren Buffett), you’ll probably end up losing money picking individual stocks too.

I’m a big fan of index funds. I invest every month through Vanguard and buy the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF. That’s my long-term wealth building strategy. Simple.

Cryptocurrencies are not an investment!

I feel a rant coming on every time I hear about crypto. I’m shocked that the same percentage of Brits (9%) have “invested” in crypto as index funds (9%). Cryptocurrencies are not an investment.

Crypto is not an asset. Yes, some cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin) have exploded in popularity and price over the past 10 years, but they have a fundamental problem. Unlike other assets, where you are actually buying into something real (like a car, piece of art or – in the case of equities – a slice of a real business with real people trying to make really good products), you do not own anything real when buying cryptocurrencies.

Their value is only based on the speculation that they will continue to go up in value. Put it this way… you wouldn’t “invest” in the US Dollar, Euro or Pound Sterling in the hope that they would go up in value vs all other currencies. There’s no guarantee with crypto either.

A shift in the investing mindset

More younger people in the UK have invested in their lifetime than the middle-age, and even retirees! Source: Finder

While more and more younger people turn to investing as a way to beat the rising cost of living and to supplement their relatively low income, the younger generation is disproportionately turning to cryptocurrencies in their investment portfolios. According to Aviva, 18% of 25-34 year-olds have already withdrawn money from their pension to invest in crypto! That’s totally bonkers. Please, please stop doing this!

Having said this, it is nice to see more of the younger generation getting involved with investing. After all, these people will be around for a long time to see returns. They just need to adopt the correct investing mindset first.

According to Unbiased, apps like Trading212 and Freetrade have become popular among lower-income households. I have a T212 account – it’s where I started my investing journey over 5 years ago. The problem is that because you can trade almost anything on the classical stock market with zero commission, it’s very appealing to start stock picking and day-trading. And as we’ve already discussed, this is where most people lose money. I don’t day trade (although I do admit to having £100 in my “fun fund”, which currently tracks Nancy Pelosi’s portfolio).

Old vs Young

Younger investors tend to prioritise ETFs and cryptocurrencies, and are drawn to apps and online services that offer easy access to new opportunities. In contrast, older generations prefer safer options like stocks, funds and bonds, and they are more likely to use traditional brokerage services like Vanguard and Fidelity.

The UK is a nation of cash hoarders

Only 8% of household wealth in the UK is held directly in stocks and shares – the lowest proportion in the G7 nations. The amount of money held (beyond emergency funds) in cash or low-interest accounts, is worth £430 billion!! What is everyone doing?? The value of this money is eroded by inflation over time, and misses out on returns you could be getting through investments.

Source: Bank of England

Poor financial literacy and a lack of confidence are the key problems here. Most people report that they simply don’t know enough to invest or that it “should be left to the professionals”. Or that they do not have enough money to invest despite holding many thousands of pounds in cash! These problems are compounded by the inaccessible financial language often used, and very long legal disclaimers for investment products.

Why don’t more Britons invest?

Given the overwhelming evidence that long-term investing builds wealth, the obvious question is: why don’t more people do it?

The answer is not simple, but several key factors repeatedly show up in surveys and research.

Poor financial education

Personal finance is not taught in schools. Most people leave education knowing how to solve quadratic equations but not how compound interest works. As a result, many adults simply never learn how investing works. Without understanding concepts like diversification, risk tolerance or long-term market returns, the stock market feels mysterious and intimidating. This lack of education creates a natural barrier: if people don’t understand something, they avoid it.

Fear of losing money (we’re too risk averse)

The stock market is often portrayed in the media as a dangerous casino where fortunes are won and lost overnight. While short-term trading can indeed be risky, long-term investing in diversified index funds has historically been one of the most reliable ways to grow wealth. Unfortunately, many people only hear about stock market crashes, never the decades of steady growth that follow them. The result is that many Britons prefer the certainty of holding cash — even though inflation slowly erodes its value.

The UK’s culture of saving rather than investing

The UK has a long tradition of saving money in cash accounts. For generations, the typical financial advice was simple: save regularly and keep your money safe in the bank. While this made sense when interest rates were higher, today many savings accounts barely keep pace with inflation. Despite this, the cultural habit of holding large cash balances persists.

Investing feels more complicated

Another major barrier is that investing appears unnecessarily complicated. Between ISAs, pensions, funds, ETFs, brokerage accounts, risk profiles, tax rules and endless financial jargon, many beginners simply don’t know where to start. Faced with this complexity, people often postpone investing indefinitely. The irony is that the most effective strategy is often the simplest: invest regularly into a low-cost global index fund and leave it alone for decades.

What’s encouraging, however, is that this mindset may slowly be changing. Younger generations are showing greater interest in investing — even if they sometimes start in riskier places like crypto or speculative trading. With better financial education and more accessible resources, hopefully more Britons will begin to see investing not as something reserved for professionals, but as a normal part of managing their money.

Investing education is needed

It’s clear that there is a large generational disparity in investing appetite. But this is nothing new, and not unique to the UK. For decades, younger people generally have had a higher risk tolerance than older investors. This makes sense – they’ve got longer to live and more time to recuperate any losses. Older investors likely already have money, and want to keep hold of it – hence lower risk tolerance.

Again, nothing new here. The problem is that younger people’s appetite for risk is taking them more and more outside of traditional investing and (through cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and risky stock picking), into the shadowy realms of speculating and gambling. (Yes, I classify buying crypto as gambling.)

Personal finance education is, sadly, not taught in school. I have no idea why, as it’s arguably the most important skill you need to master as an adult. The real world is ruthless, and will take advantage of those less knowledgeable in financial matters every day of the week.

Personal finance is something you have to learn yourself. Fortunately, there are a growing number of websites where you can learn more. A lot of the focus in the personal finance space is on the US market. There are fewer resources for the UK. I intend to turn this website into a mecca of financial information so we can, together, educate the country!

Some great UK personal finance websites:

Conclusion

When you look at how many people invest in the UK, the opportunity becomes clear. Millions of people are still missing out on one of the most powerful wealth-building tools ever created.

The good news is that investing has never been more accessible. With low-cost index funds and simple investing platforms, anyone can start building wealth with just a small amount of money each month.

FAQ

What percentage of people invest in the UK?

Around 23% of UK adults actively invested in 2024, up from 18% the year before. While over half of Britons have invested at some point in their lives, regular investing remains relatively uncommon. This makes the UK one of the lowest countries in the G7 for direct stock market participation.

Why do so few Britons invest in the stock market?

Several factors contribute to low investing participation in the UK. Many people lack financial education or confidence in the stock market, while others believe investing requires large sums of money. Complicated financial language and a cultural preference for saving cash rather than investing also discourage many people from getting started.

Are index funds a good way to start investing?

For most people, low-cost index funds are one of the simplest and most effective ways to invest. They provide instant diversification by tracking an entire market or global index. Because they require very little management and have low fees, index funds are widely recommended for long-term investors building wealth over decades.

Why is holding too much cash a problem?

While keeping an emergency fund in cash is sensible, holding large amounts of cash long-term can be risky. Inflation gradually reduces the purchasing power of money held in savings accounts. Investing allows your money to grow over time, helping it keep pace with inflation and build wealth through compound returns.

Are you a UK-based investor? Let me know how confident you feel about personal finance in the comments section below, and how I can build this website to help you:

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