Translated material
A million is missing
Most Russians are not ready to become participants in the stock market
About a third of Russians are not averse to becoming participants in the stock market, but they still do not have sufficient financial resources and special knowledge, according to a study by the Public Opinion Foundation.The survey “Financial behavior of Russians: attitude towards stocks and securities” was conducted in 100 settlements in 44 regions, territories and republics of Russia. 1,500 respondents took part in the interviews. The statistical error does not exceed 3.6%.
According to the survey, today 11% of Russians already own shares in various Russian companies. However, 7% of them received their shares for free - in exchange for vouchers, as part of various corporatization programs for enterprise employees, etc. And only 3% purchased shares with their own money, i.e. independently entered into the game on the stock market.
About a third of Russians (31%) do not reject the opportunity to use shares as a financial instrument. According to FOM, these respondents said that they would buy shares in a Russian company if their financial situation allowed them. Among them, three-quarters (22%) consider such an acquisition a profitable investment, a way to get rich. And only 3% are confident that now it is necessary to place money in shares of companies in the oil and gas industry, since this is a reliable investment.
“Citizens are gradually beginning to realize that the stock market is not a means of getting rich quickly, but a way to achieve their financial goals,” says Valery Zinchenko, a representative of the Alfa Capital management company. -- Among these goals, first of all, the desire to save money for a large purchase, in order to give children an education, and also to save some amount for old age. At the same time, people understand that bank deposits and storing money under the mattress are not the best ways to do this.”
Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of potential buyers of shares (23% of respondents) would purchase securities for the sake of dividends, and only a sixth (6% of respondents) would purchase them in order to make a profit from the resale of shares when their value increases.
According to the study, there are approximately one and a half times fewer people willing to purchase shares than those who are unwilling. 45% of respondents would not do this, even if they had the appropriate financial resources. 24% found it difficult to express a definite opinion on this issue. The most common argument of those who would not buy shares is distrust in this financial instrument, fear of risk, instability (18% of respondents).
“Potential investors are still frightened by cases with MMM and other financial pyramids,” notes expert analyst of the National League of Managers Alexey Pushkov. “But a generational change is gradually taking place, and young investors are entering the market more boldly. Among them, in the forefront are those who are professionally versed in securities, as well as those who engage in self-education. Lack of specialized knowledge continues to be one of the main problems for private investors.” As the expert notes, “young investors” do not set their main goal to quickly increase capital, but rather try to competently manage their finances. “About 200 thousand people are now involved in the collective investment market,” says Alexey Pushkov. -- By Western standards, the industry can be called established when more than 1% of citizens have entered the market. So we are still short of about a million people.”