Quis aut aliquid eligendi repellendus

There are so many factors that can impact confidence, from level of knowledge and experience to market movements and professional support.

Psychologically, your approach to investing is inextricably linked to your emotional state and cognitive biases – are you overconfident, are you risk averse, perhaps you tend to follow the herd or can sometimes be irrational with decision making? Success in financial markets can hinge on so many factors.

A recent ‘Investor Confidence Barometer,’¹ which has surveyed 1,000 adult investors holding a pension and investable assets of least £100,000, has provided some interesting insight.

There is an interesting division between advised and non-advised investors, with almost three quarters (74%) of those taking advice planning to increase their contributions over the year ahead, versus half of non-advised investors. Those who take advice seem to have a ‘deeper investable capacity and long-term strategy’ adding higher amounts (£38,983 versus £25,908 on average for non-advised).

• ​​Almost two-thirds of investors (62%) are looking to increase their investments over the next year
• Long-term planning is the main driver for those intending to increase contributions (67%), followed by expectations of strong returns (47%)
• Adviser guidance influences 43% of those increasing investments and is the single biggest driver (60%) among advised investors
• Over three quarters of investors (77%) are confident about achieving portfolio growth – falling to 61% without adviser support, ‘highlighting the critical role of advice in converting confidence into outcomes’
• Confidence in retirement funding rises from 68% for non-advised investors to 82% for those receiving advice.