In the UK, money is the #1 cause of stress—ranking above physical health, work, or family.
When people begin investing, they see immediate emotional benefits compared to non-investors. In fact, investors are 16 percentage points happier, and 23 percentage points more positive about their well-being.
However, only 37% of Brits hold market-based investments. So why aren’t more people taking steps to invest? Today’s infographic from BlackRock outlines the barriers people face, and how wealthtech can help address these issues at scale.
The Wealth Problem
A variety of hurdles keep people from taking control of their finances.
- Lack of Resources: 59% of Brits feel they don’t have enough money to invest.
- Lack of Knowledge: 39% say a lack of knowledge holds them back.
- Fear of Failure: 34% are afraid of losing everything if they invest.
All of these factors culminate in insufficient investing. In fact, 50% of the €26 trillion European wealth market is currently in uninvested cash, earning zero interest.
What’s the Current Solution?
Traditionally, investment advisers helped tackle these issues. However, investors have faced challenges accessing professional advice in recent years.
A shortage of UK advisers is a main contributing factor:
- There are only 26,700 advisers, who can service an average of 100 clients each.
- This leaves over 51 million adults without professional advice.
Among available advisers, many impose investment minimums or fees that create barriers for lower-income populations. Financial advisers charge an average of £150/hour, and half of all surveyed advisers turned away clients with less than £50,000 to invest.
With so many hurdles to overcome, how can Brits take charge of their investments?
A Modern Solution
Wealth technology—or simply wealthtech—helps address these issues at scale, offering four main digital-first solutions:
- Helps investors build better portfolios.
Gone are the days of rudimentary spreadsheets. With the help of algorithms and machine learning, investors can now automatically build sophisticated portfolios. - Helps advisors scale their services.
The automation of time-consuming processes allows advisers to service more clients. - Reaches more people.
Wealthtech is accessible for all, not just the wealthy. For example, micro-investing apps allow investors to make small, regular contributions without paying a commission. - Modernises infrastructure.
Wealthtech updates old legacy systems with more streamlined, automated systems. As a result, paper-based processes are replaced with mobile transactions that can be done with the click of a button.
These benefits can be applied across various branches of wealth management.
The Wealthtech Ecosystem
Investors can choose one of three main paths, based on their level of knowledge and interest.
“Do It Yourself” Investing
Confident investors who enjoy managing their own money can trade securities through self-directed online platforms.
“Do It For Me” Investing
Novice investors can use platforms that execute trades on their behalf, such as micro-investing or robo-advisers.
“Do It With Me” Investing
For investors in the middle of this spectrum, certain platforms offer a hybrid of digital transactions and professional advice.
With a wide variety of solutions available, investing has never been easier.
Inclusive Wealth-Building
It’s clear Brits are open to the shift: 64% say new technology would help them be more involved in their investments.
As wealthtech evolves, it will be seamlessly integrated into daily life as part of a holistic financial services offering. Traditional barriers will be broken down, empowering individuals to take charge of their financial future.
