The ISIAR value was 53.5 according to the results of the third wave of the study, 0.6 less than in August 2023. Now let’s explain what this means. The ISIAR research has been carried out jointly, starting in 2023, by PSB Bank, NIFI of the Russian Ministry of Finance and the NAFI Analytical Center to determine the current level of participation of Russian citizens in the field of savings and investment, as well as as to forecast the investment activity of the population. The main analytical blocks are the investment and savings behavior of Russians, the attitude towards investment market actors, barriers to regular investments and the development prospects of the savings and investment market.
“The index showed stability during the first half of the year and did not show sharp changes,” explained Vera Podguzova, senior vice president and head of external relations at PSB. – The decline was due to a slight decrease in the indicator of investment and savings behavior, a slightly higher prevalence of myths about investments and a less positive assessment of the prospects for market development.
According to Vera Podguzova, over the past six months public trust in the players of the savings and investment market as a whole has increased, which is largely due to the increase in citizens’ trust in banks.
“Banks occupy the position of a stable financial institution, in which 80% of citizens trust to a greater or lesser extent; in just six months this value has increased by 10 percentage points,” he noted. – Achieving such indicators was possible, including thanks to an increase in the level of financial education. It plays an important role in stimulating the savings and investment activity of Russian citizens, allowing them to increase their income by intelligently and effectively using the products and solutions offered by financial institutions.
According to the study, almost a quarter of the population saves in ways that provide a certain return: a bank deposit or an investment (24%). At the same time, every third Russian (30%) has savings in “non-income” forms: cash (21%) and an interest-free bank account (9%). Interestingly, the majority of savers (66%) choose rubles for their savings, 27% prefer US dollars for deposits, 25% prefer euros, 11% prefer yuan and 5% choose UAE dirhams.
By the way, about the yuan. 58% of the country’s population does not know about deposits in yuan and 9% would like to invest in Chinese currency. At the same time, 60% of those who already have a deposit in yuan talk about a potential increase in the value of this currency.
“Russian investors are young, under 45 years old, and a significant proportion of them already have investment experience of the last three years,” says Guzelia Imaeva, general director of the NAFI Analytical Center. – These are the so-called new investors. Their main motivation is to save money from inflation and receive additional income. In addition to saving for retirement and accumulating capital to buy expensive things. 15% form capital for their children. But generally, it is about creating passive income that would not depend on regular income.
The study also surveyed Russians who had not yet invested. More than half of those surveyed responded that they did not have free money to start investing: 58%. At the same time, one of the misconceptions of the Russians surveyed is that the investment requires a minimum amount of several hundred thousand rubles, although in reality it does not exceed 25 thousand rubles, since young people between 18 and 34 years old, The active population, those who take loans are aware of the “savers”: those who first save part of their income and then spend the rest on current expenses. Furthermore, 33% of respondents without investment experience stated that they did not have enough knowledge to become an investor and 25% were afraid of losing their money.
“The fear of losing savings is very evident among older generations,” said Nikolai Dmitriev, deputy director of the financial education directorate at the Financial Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Finance. – And this is precisely related to one of the myths that investing is difficult and requires additional professional knowledge. However, modern technology destroyed most barriers long ago. The availability of banking services in Russia is at a very high level. The barriers are greater in the minds of citizens.
According to the study, Russians who do not invest also said they had no time, interest or trust in investment companies.
The issue of trust is a question of financial literacy.
“In this area there is a difference in the approach of men and women, and this is understandable,” explained Veniamin Kaganov, general director of the Association for the Development of Financial Education. – If women dedicated themselves to investing, they weighed everything and correlated it with the family budget, understanding what they could risk. Men are more at risk. Today, banks carry out systematic work on financial education, which is why they are trusted more than other financial organizations. We have already accumulated experience in investing in banking instruments. Additionally, the state has taken measures to protect deposits. However, it is necessary to strengthen educational activities; A wide variety of investment knowledge programs and projects are needed.
