- Romania has the largest percentage of individual investors that own crypto assets (54%)and the highest percentage of female investors that own crypto (48%)
- Romania has the largest percentage of older investors, over 55 years, that own crypto (30%)
Experts consider that investors’ asset allocation should vary with age. This means that an investment portfolio for younger investors should bear more risk than the one for people over 55 years old.
The explanation for this comes from the fact that at younger age the priority should be growth and high reward is usually coupled with high risk, writes eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu. It is also a question of time as younger investors have a long investing horizon and enough time to recover from potential losses than older people approaching pension. But is it true in 2024? Well, it depends on the country.
The most volatile asset is crypto and according to the latest eToro Retail Investors Beat survey, 32% of global investors are having this type of asset in their portfolio. But if we are going to more traditional assets, 49% are having domestic stocks, 34% domestic bonds of fixed income instruments and a staggering 69% are having cash assets.
Romania has the largest percentage of investors – 54% – that own crypto in their portfolios. They are followed by Poles (51%) and Czechs (50%). As we go to the West, the percentages are dropping from 38% in Spain to 27% in the US and 20% in France and Denmark. In Romania we also have the largest percentage of female investors (48%) that own crypto, followed by Poland and the Netherlands.
But if we are looking at the age distribution the largest percentage of young investors aged between 18 to 34 years that own crypto are coming from Czechia (69%) followed by Romania (66%) and Poland (62%). At the other end of the spectrum the least interested in crypto young investors are the ones in the UK followed by the French and Italians, Australians and Americans. Interestingly, in Romania we also have the largest percentage of older investors, over 55 years, that own crypto (30%) followed by Poland (24%) and Czechia (18%). The lowest percentages are coming from the UK (5%), Denmark (6%), France (7%) and the US (8%).
When moving to more traditional assets, the situation is changing. With the US stocks exchange being the largest in the world, one would have thought that the largest percentage of investors owning domestic stocks is coming from there. Well, the survey is showing that 69% of Danish investors own stocks in their local market followed by the ones from Germany (56%), the Netherlands (55%), Australia (52%) and US (49%). Overall Romania is closer to the bottom of the standings with 47%. But when we are looking at age groups, young Romanian investors are ranked second (51%) after the Danish (56%) and before the Dutch (49%), the UK (49%) and the US investors (46%).
As we move to more secure assets like domestic bonds, the standings are changing too. Half of Polish investors (50%) are having bonds in their portfolios followed by 42% of Danish and 40% of US investors, trying to capitalise on still high interest rates. Romania is in the middle of the rankings with 35%. When it comes to cash Romanian investors are in fourth place (75%), the first being the ones in the UK (82%) followed by Czechs (79%) and the ones in the US (76%).
While the eToro Retail Investor Beat survey is showing a more prudent approach of the older investors and a bolder one of the younger, there is one thing to be noticed. Despite traditional wisdom of reducing the investment risk with age, older investors, especially, in Central and Eastern Europe do not want to be left out of the crypto phenomenon.
