| A third of Russians are confident that shares can be purchased directly from the issuing company. 16% of Russian residents consider it possible to purchase shares in a bank, and 12% on the stock exchange. These are the results of a sociological study initiated by the MICEX stock exchange and the Public Opinion Foundation, ITAR-TASS reports. Few give the correct answers: 7% of respondents name a brokerage company, 5% name an investment company, and 4% name a management company. In addition, many respondents are confident that an ordinary person simply cannot buy shares because they are too expensive or distributed “among their own.” Many seriously believe that shares of Gazprom or RAO UES of Russia are not sold on the market. The researchers also found that 47% of respondents realize that responsibility for the risks associated with investing in securities lies with investors, and no one is obliged to compensate shareholders for losses. However, 37% of respondents believe that the state is obliged to compensate shareholders for losses in situations where the value of shares falls sharply. The majority, apparently, are not aware of the laws that protect investors: 65% of respondents are sure that today’s shareholders are not protected by law from fraud in this area, only 13% believe that investors have such protection. Sociologists have found that only 10% of respondents show interest in the situation on the stock market. It turned out that the most popular way of managing money among Russians is a deposit in Sberbank (57%), 18% would prefer a deposit in a commercial bank or buying gold, 16% would prefer to invest in stocks or keep money at home. Only 5% are ready to buy shares in mutual funds, 4% are willing to buy government bonds, and 2% each can invest money in OFBUs and non-state pension funds. The survey was conducted in 204 settlements on the territory of 62 constituent entities of Russia from October 22 to November 5. A total of 7,512 adults and 579 adolescents were surveyed. There were 2,644 thousand financially active adults, that is, just over 35%. |
