2021 Report on the investment choices of Italian households
This Report presents a static snapshot of the financial knowledge and investment choices of Italian investment choices made by Italian households, as revealed by external sources, data taken from supervisory activity and a survey conducted by our Observatory on a sample of 2,700 respondents.
The purpose of the work is to provide documented information and certain indicators on the determinants of behavior in this area. The results achieved indicate that the financial knowledge of savers is not widespread, although it has improved slightly. Digital skills are also weak, despite the increase registered in the use of new tools during the pandemic. Knowledge of sustainable investments is a keen desire, but is rather low for now. Most investors do not have an independent financial plan, especially a long-term one; as a result, their as a result, their savings are a residual resulting from their individually available net of expenses made. The attitude to personal management of savings is modest, while the dependence of their choices on trust in official managers persists. Two contingent phenomena should be kept under observation, that of the investors who entered the market in the last two years have lower financial and digital skills than those who have been and that membership of a web community remains a marginal phenomenon. From this summary overview, two risk factors emerge, or rather, two elements that transfer it to the government authorities, to which they address requests to compensate for the losses when they occur, and on the financial control authorities, from whom they ask for protection in any case. First, that half of the sample does not trust any savings intermediary and second the repayment guarantee as the main variable influencing their choices.
———————————–
Consob Report on Families 2020
———————————–
The crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has generated heavy repercussions on the real economy, affecting employment and household disposable income.
In Italy, as emerges from the per capita data referring to the first half of the year, the evolution of disposable income is mainly linked to the contraction of wages and salaries, only partially offset by the increase in public subsidies. Unsurprisingly, confidence indicators remain below pre-crisis levels in this context.
The crisis triggered by the pandemic contributes to exacerbating the challenges related to some structural changes that characterize advanced economies, including digitization and an aging population. These challenges are particularly important in Italy, which in the European comparison stands out both for a negative gap in terms of digital skills, use of the internet and the spread of e-commerce and for a more pronounced aging of the population. In particular, the average age is 47 years versus 44 in the euro area; the share of people over 65 should exceed 26% in 2029 compared to about 24% in the Eurozone; the dependency rate of individuals aged 65 or over on the working-age population stands at almost 36%, more than four percentage points higher than the value in the Eurozone.
The financial culture of Italians remains contained although slightly improving, especially in the investor subsample, compared to previous surveys. In particular, the share of respondents who correctly answer questions on basic financial knowledge ranges from 38% (concept of diversification) to 60% (risk-return ratio). The comparison between actual and perceived financial knowledge ex-ante (i.e. before the precise verification of the aforementioned notions) shows that respondents tend above all to underestimate their knowledge (downward mismatch) rather than to overestimate it (upward mismatch). However, the gap between real and perceived ex-post knowledge (i.e. following the precise verification of notions) shows an aptitude to overestimate one’s financial culture in 22% of cases and to underestimate it in 20% of cases, while about 40% of respondents cannot assess the number of correct answers given. If the latter data is used to ‘purify’ the answers to the test on financial knowledge from potentially random ones (fluctuating between 21% and 29% of the total, depending on the topic), the percentage of correct answers falls on average from 50% to 37%.
———————————–
96th World Savings Day 2020 – Speech by the Governor of the Bank of Italy
———————————–
Consob Report on Families 2018 – Report on financial investments of Italian households
———————————–
31st October 2019 – 95° World Savings Day
Read the Report [Italian Only]
———————————–
Consob Report on Families 2018 – Report on financial investments
of Italian households
———————————–
Trends in household wealth and savings
In Italy household net wealth remains stable at its 2012 level, whereas gross saving rate keeps declining below the euro area average.
Discrepancies between Italy and the Eurozone persist also in the composition of financial assets, especially with respect to the holdings of insurance and pension products and in the level of indebtedness, with Italian households exhibiting more favourable figures. Over 2011-2017, Italy has caught up with the average of the euro area as for the access to some banking products and services, while still lagging behind with respect to the acquaintance with digital means of payment.
———————————–
The 2018 CONSOB Observatory: socio-demographics and personal traits of sampled financial decision makers
The 2018 CONSOB Observatory ‘The approach to finance and investment of Italian households‘ collects data from 1,601 households, representative of the population of Italian retail financial decision makers, with a focus on individual psychological traits and inclinations.
As extensively acknowledged by researchers and practitioners, financial behaviours are deeply grounded into individual psychological traits and inclinations. According to indicators computed on the basis of respondents’ self-evaluation, the majority of the sample prefers numerical information and shows that the need for cognition is inclined to financial anxiety. Moreover, the perception of self-efficacy and self-control as well as optimism and trust are common. Finally, in line with the behavioural investors’ type (BIT) literature, respondents are asked to report about some personality traits that may affect financial choices. A preliminary inspection based on pairwise correlations among socio-demographic characteristics and personal traits shows that preference for numerical information is more frequent among men and highly educated individuals, who also show a higher need for cognition. Financial anxiety is more common among women and the lowest educated ones, whilst being negatively correlated with the attitudes potentially underpinning personal engagement in challenging tasks, self-confidence and optimism. The economic situation (as proxied by income, financial wealth, house property and employment status) is positively correlated with all the selected traits, except financial anxiety.
———————————–
31st October 2018 – 94° World Savings Day
Read the Report [Italian Only]
———————————–
Challenges in Ensuring Financial Competencies – Consob
“Essays on how to measure financial knowledge, target beneficiaries and deliver educational programmes” by Nadia Linciano and P. Soccorso Editors.
Consob Report on Families 2017
Consob Report on Families 2016
Families in the Euro-zone: Wealth and Savings
In the last few years, the net wealth of the families in the Euro-zone has increased by 3,2% in 2015. Nevertheless, in Italy this level has remained almost unchanged with a +0,4%, while the increase of financial activities by 5,2% has been counterbalanced by the reduction of real activities by -3%. In the Euro-zone, the reaffirmation of the economic stability of families, witnessed from 2013 and due to the increase of employment and income, has accompanied the constant improvement of operators’ attitude and the gradual return of the saving rate to pre-crisis levels (13%). The Italian counterpart, although it shows a similar flow, shows that the saving rate is still below the long-term values, underlining the gap with the European average at respectively 10% and 13%.
Due to the higher perception of risk and lower interest for financial investments, families still prefer to opt for liquid products, such as deposits and cash, insurance products and pension funds, contrasting the lower values of bonds and stocks. Italy follows a similar behaviour, even though common funds have shown a net recovery. Regarding financial liabilities, the approach of the Euro-zone families has remained solid, as the light decrease of the debt weight on financial activities and GDP (respectively, 32% and 61% in 2015) from 2013 have demonstrated. The Italian data are still below the European average with the numbers of 23% and 43% in 2015, although the differential has decreased in the last years.
Bank credits to families, after the significant contraction of the previous years, are now showing gradual hints of recovery from the end of 2014, due to the positive contribution of the demand-supply balance, and the constant decrease of interest rates of loans.
Source: Consob
———————————–