Europe has long been viewed as less risk tolerant and less interested in stocks when it came to personal investing. While there are many reasons for this, some view it as disadvantageous for the wider population, as equities can drive wealth creation. Today, the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has distributed a note sharing that many new investors in equities are young. The AMF states that 40% of new equity investors are under 35 years of age.
The AMF notes that the COVID crisis helped to drive younger investors into equity markets, with the trend increasing for months at the height of the COVID economy. The report shares that in four and a half years, between 2019 and 2023, nearly 1.5 million new retail investors completed their first stock market transactions.
In the first half of 2023, out of 95,500 new equity investors, 38.5% were under 35, which is said to be a record level. This is compared with 12% in the full year of 2019 and 28% in 2020. The under-25s alone accounted for 14.1% of these new investors, twice as many as in 2020.
Among all retail investors buying or selling equities, the proportion of under-35s rose to 17.4% at the end of June 2023, the highest level recorded by the AMF since it began compiling detailed data.
Under-25s accounted for just 1.4% of active investors in 2019 but are now at 4.1%. In the first half of 2023, over 53,000 investors were under the age of 25, compared with just under 13,000 in the first half of 2019.
“This new generation of retail investors is an asset for the Paris financial centre,” stated the AMF Chair Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani. “The AMF will continue its educational initiatives to help shareholders, especially novices, whatever their age, acquire a stock market culture with a long-term perspective.”
Still, amongst the growing interest to invest, the percentage of the French population remains pretty low at 6.8%. Compare this to the US where over 60% of the adult population owns shares – either directly or via funds – according to a recent Gallup survey. This is the highest percentage since 2008.
Of course, how retirement accounts are handled directly factors into the interest in investing. That and taxes, play a big role.