FCA sets out findings on young investors’ decision-making

The FCA has found that two thirds of young investors take less than 24 hours to make an investment decision.

Their latest research surveyed 2,000 UK investors aged 18 – 40, who had purchased a viral trend and products they had seen online, as well as those who held, had held in the past, or were considering investing in a range of investment products, including high-risk products.

It also found that:

• 1 in 7 investors decide to purchase in less than an hour, while only 11% take more than a week to decide if an investment was right for them;
• a quarter admitted to making investment decisions impulsively to keep up with current trends;
• the average spend on ‘hyped’ investment products was £550;
• 2 in 5 investors regret purchasing a ‘hyped’ investment product; and
• 85% acknowledged social media platforms as being highly influential in investment decisions, with 43% using these platforms as their primary research tool.

The research highlighted strong parallels between impulse-drive investment decisions and purchases of everyday viral products: in the list of the most common viral items investors had purchased within the last year, crypto ranked fourth (27%), behind only air fryers (42%), smart watches and energy drinks (both 32%).