Young UK investors prefer crypto to stock

Young folks! Major US financial group Charles Schwab has conducted a survey across the pond, and found that young British investors are twice as likely to buy cryptocurrencies as they are to buy stock.

Bitcoin vs Intel is settled then, old chap.

Charles Schwab has around 31.9 million active brokerage accounts, but the company has said that it is watching the crypto space before it considers providing any cryptocurrency services directly to customers. It also awaits additional clarity from regulators prior to proceeding.

Getting back to the survey, the study was conducted between February and March, and the company received 1,000 responses.

As noted in the press release presenting the survey:

“As more young people purchase speculative products, there is a fear that these investors are not diversifying their portfolios enough to mitigate risks in case cryptocurrency markets decline.”

Respondents were UK investors aged over 18 who hold at least one type of investment out of a list of assets, including equities, bonds, certificates of deposits (CDs), exchange traded funds (ETFs), and contracts for difference (CFDs).

And Charles Schwab found that 51% of millennial and Gen Z investors aged between 18 and 37 traded or owned cryptocurrencies, a figure that was up from 44% in May last year. In addition, 70% view cryptocurrencies as a good investment.

Meanwhile, only 8% of investors aged over 55 traded cryptocurrencies. In comparison, 25% of young investors bought or held equities.

The survey gives an insight into the amount of risk that young investors are taking.

It is for this reason that Charles Schwab is looking closely and cautiously at the crypto market and waiting for regulators to give more guidance around digital currencies before offering retail cryptocurrency capabilities on its platform.