The chief executive of Abrdn’s Interactive Investor has said platforms need to focus on providing a seamless user experience for customers, or they will leave.
Speaking at an Abrdn conference yesterday (February 20), Richard Wilson said young people expect an easy, intuitive experience when investing.
“They will not put up with old fashioned phone calls and poor levels of service.
“If the app does not do it for them, they will switch it off,” he said.
Even though much of household wealth is currently in the hands of over 55-year-olds, 18 to 24-year-olds represent the major investors of the future, Wilson said.
“We want to make sure we can capture those and retain them [as customers].”
Unexpected investing
Wilson said, contrary to popular belief, young people are diversifying their investments across different vehicles.
Consumers aged 18 to 24 and using Interactive Investor’s platform have 28.7 per cent of their holdings in investment trusts, higher than any other age group.
Those aged 35 to 44 have the least exposure to trusts, at 12 per cent, rising back to 26.6 per cent for the over 60s.
Clients' exposure on Interactive Investor's platform
Source: Interactive Investor
“This [investment trust investment] is despite all of the fervour about young people sticking to meme stocks and high leveraged trading,” Wilson said.
This has, however, contributed to the young adult cohort seeing the worst performance in their portfolios on Interactive Investor’s platform.
The average 18 to 24-year-old’s portfolio fell 11.63 per cent in the last quarter of 2022, according to Interactive Investor, compared with the least-worst performing, the over 65s, losing 7.29 per cent.
sally.hickey@ft.com
