Deposit in a savings account (or deposit), savings in the 3rd level of pensions and investments in real estate are currently the three most popular types of free funds investment in the Baltic States, ”Swedbank”Study.
–
–
Content will continue after the ad
Advertising
–
One of these three types of savings (or several at the same time) is used by 80% of respondents in Latvia. At the same time, real estate is currently perceived as the most promising type of investment – 37% of Latvians, 43% of Lithuanians and 46% of Estonians have named it the best.
A significant proportion of respondents in all three Baltic countries admit that they have managed to start accumulating more in the last year (40% of people in Latvia, 47% in Estonia, 59% in Lithuania). However, accumulation habits vary from country to country. In Latvia and Estonia, people choose to save money in an account or savings tool as their primary method, while in Lithuania people still prefer term deposits. On the other hand, Estonians (15%) prefer to invest free money in financial markets, while in Latvia and Lithuania the number of such population is smaller (6%).
In addition, Latvia has the largest number of cash supporters – 42% of people have said that they do not invest money, but prefer to save money in a clear way (there are about twice as many cash savers in neighboring countries).
“The study of investment trends confirms our observation that the habit of accumulating has become commonplace for many people. However, how to deal with this savings, who to trust, is still at the beginning of the road. Financial experts need to continue to explain the impact of inflation on savings. Because a lot of people in Latvia prefer to save cash, the money that is not invested gradually loses value. In addition, nowadays, investing has become available to everyone and much easier than many think, “says Renārs Rūsis, Head of Retail Banking at Swedbank.
In terms of the amount that people can save during the year, the situation is similar among the population of the Baltic States – about a quarter of respondents can save 300-1000 euros, a smaller number of people up to 3000 euros (about 20% in each country). At the same time, a relatively large part of the population admits that as incomes have fallen, they have been forced to spend what they have accumulated in the past. In Latvia, 30% of respondents did so, in Lithuania and Estonia slightly less (22% and 28%, respectively).
In turn, assessing the increase in inflation, people in Latvia and Lithuania are ready to increase their savings or buy real estate. Estonia is dominated by real estate and people are willing to invest more in the financial markets. The people of the Baltic States are united by rather optimistic expectations of their return on investment – about a quarter of the respondents expect a high annual return of at least 10% –15% (in Lithuania and Estonia, a similar number of respondents also consider a return of 6% –9% to be adequate).
“Real estate has been on the list of the most attractive investments for years, but unlike investments in financial markets or other savings products, it requires large initial contributions. , EUR 50. Our data show that in addition to the existing interest in investing in tier 3 pensions and savings life insurance solutions, interest in investing in funds has also grown significantly. already more than 11 million euros, “notes Rūsis.
People in Latvia rely more on investment experts and monitor the return on their financial investments only once a month (32%), while people in Lithuania and Estonia check these data weekly (25% and 30%, respectively). The main thing that the people of the Baltic States rely on when making investments is the positive previous experience and recommendations from friends and acquaintances (Latvia has a relatively higher level of trust in the recommendations of banking specialists).
The Baltics have similar views on the main factors that determine who to entrust money to. The reputation of the financial service provider (the most important factor in Latvia and Lithuania), the costs of the service provider (the most important factor in Estonia) and the potential level of profitability are important.
–
