Shares – as Stefan Vegh tells us – are extremely popular among Saxo Bank customers.
— Interestingly, they are extremely popular in Poland. I would say they are about 10-15 percent. more popular than in other countries of the CEE region (Eastern and Central Europe). More than half of our Polish clients invest in company shares. These are often shares of global companies, primarily those listed on US stock exchanges. In second place are companies from Europe, and in third place – those from Asia, a region that currently seems to be enjoying increasing interest from investors. Apart from shares, ETFs are of course very popular, says our interlocutor.
— I think people like ETFs because they are usually quite cheap and offer the opportunity to invest in a wide range of stocks or products with a relatively low investment asset amount. On the other hand, Polish customers are also attached to keeping cash in their accounts – also much more than other customers from the CEE region. Poles, for example, attach great importance to interest rates, he adds.
Boom for gold, AI and arms
— We have two hot topics at the moment – apart from security issues, there is, of course, AI and the entire revolution related to this issue. These two issues are, I would say, the hottest and most interesting for today's investors. In addition, of course, we had – and still have – a gold boom. Investors look for such safe havens in uncertain situations, our interlocutor admits.
— Not so long ago, investing was the domain of people in the prime of their lives; a typical investor was, let's say, about 40-50 years old. Now it is gradually shifting towards younger generations, people aged 25 can be not only very experienced, but also active investors – says Stefan Vegh.
— Investing has become a much more digital experience, and today's young generation simply has access to many such tools. They can invest with their phone in hand. Not so long ago, it was not so easy and investing was considered elitist. But that's the way it is – now investing is for everyone – he notes in an interview with Business Insider Polska.
However, he notices differences in the approach to investing between these younger and older clients.
— I would say that younger people are more likely not to be afraid of risk, they are looking for investments that provide quick and large returns. But these slightly older investors focus more on investing, with a view to increasing their wealth slower but more consistently. At Saxo, we actively try to engage all investors to educate them and promote a rational approach focused on long-term investing and avoiding speculative activities, because we believe that this is what will be best for our clients in the long run, he says.
“Customers have matured”
— I would also say that clients are much more mature in terms of investing than they were a few years ago. There used to be a lot of people speculating to get rich very quickly. I don't want to say that it doesn't exist anymore (laughter). But we see that by investing with a long-term perspective, more and more people simply want to slowly increase their wealth, e.g. to secure retirement or to provide a good start for their children. This is quite a noticeable change. We also see that not only people who are very familiar with new technologies start investing in shares. Poland is maturing as an economy and people have simply realized that it is not about investing in some abstract numbers, but simply in real companies, real economy. This change can be seen very clearly in Poland, I would say more clearly than in other countries in the CEE region, says Vegh.
See also: A financial educator gives three pieces of advice for beginner investors
The rest of the article is below the video
What advice does he have for investors? — First of all, I would advise you to think about your goals and risk tolerance – what do they want to achieve and what level of risk will allow them to sleep soundly? Think about it and write it down. Are we looking for something to give us excitement? If so, maybe investing isn't really for us… But if we want to allocate some of our money to slowly grow it, it may be a good idea to build a portfolio that is well diversified in terms of regions, sectors, and maybe also asset classes. For example, you could start by looking at stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. In any case, I always advise writing down your goals – and coming back to them, e.g. after a year. And wondering whether it is achieving its goals, whether it is what I wanted, whether it is worth changing something – and e.g. rebuilding your portfolio – he says.
So in the era of investing on platforms, paper and pen are ultimately the best option? – we ask. — What I'm saying is that reading, analyzing and learning are the basis of investing. And this is the best we can do in this regard. This is how we can be good investors and climb to the next levels – replies a representative of Saxo Bank.
What do we want to invest in?
The majority of investors in our region (i.e. CEE) (66%) plan to maintain the current asset structure, and every fifth (19%) declares expanding exposure to new regions, sectors or asset classes.
However, differences in approach are visible: women declare diversification more often than men (27% vs. 19%).
On the risk radar, investors from our European region combine geopolitical and technological factors: they consider trade wars (79%), the “Trump factor” (78%) and AI (78%) as “very” or “quite important”. Tensions in the Middle East also rank high (49%). At the same time, the region assesses the importance of the Russia-Ukraine conflict relatively lower than the world (39% in CEE versus 55% globally).
When asked about the region with the best prospects for the fourth quarter, investors from CEE – just like globally – point to North America (CEE 34%, globally approx. 32%), while Europe is most often chosen as the weakest (CEE 42%, globally 37%).
Saxo Bank is one of the most popular banking platforms that serves approximately 1.2 million customers.
See also: An economist presents five principles of investing. They are intended to help 20-, 30- and 40-year-olds build wealth and beat the market
Author: Mateusz Madejski, journalist of Business Insider Polska
