The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
New research can today reveal the most popular financial products for first-time investors – with 41% of UK investors considering crypto the most important asset.
The experts at BrokerChooser surveyed their customers to find out the most popular financial products among first-time investors overall and by country.
Top 10 countries with the most interest in crypto:
Rank
Country
Percentage of first-time investors
1
South Africa
50.2%
2
India
47.5%
3
Japan
47.1%
4
Australia
45.7%
5
Ireland
42.0%
6
United Kingdom
41.6%
7
France
41.4%
8
Belgium
39.8%
9
Saudi Arabia
39.5%
10
Mexico
39.3%
The financial products rising the most in popularity:
Rank
Product
Average percentage increase
1
Cryptocurrency
22%
2
Funds
1.5%
3
Stocks
0.7%
Cryptocurrency has gained the most popularity since 2019, with an average increase of first-time investors selecting crypto as the most important financial product of 22%.
The financial products dropping the most in popularity:
Rank
Product
Average percentage decrease
1
Forex
6.2%
2
CFDs
2.6%
3
Options
1.1%
Forex, the market for trading currencies against each other has lost the most interest from first-time traders between the two years. The product has decreased in popularity by an average of 6.2%.
Further findings reveal:
The UK also appeared in the top 10 countries regarding stocks, forex and CFDs as essential investments, with 36.6% of first-time investors considering forex a must-have.
South African first-time investors are the most interested in crypto with over 50% considering it a must-have asset.
India takes the top spot for five of the six products, losing out to South Africa for first-timers considering cryptocurrency a must-have. India still takes second place for cryptocurrency, with slightly under half of its first-time investors considering crypto a must-have.
The United States only appeared in the top 10 for stocks with 41.9% of first-time investors considering it an essential investment. The U.S. didn’t appear in any of the top 10 for forex, crypto or funds.
Japan also appears in the top 10 for all 6 products, with first-time investors placing in the top five for every category. Japan ranks second for both options and funds, with 42.1% and 49.2% considering them an essential investment respectively.
