A third (33%) of Brits who do not invest said it’s because they don’t know enough about investing, Aviva has found.

New research from the insurer revealed that over half (55%) of Brits have no investments, while 39% are put off by thinking investing is too risky and they worry they’ll lose money, compared to leaving it in a current or savings account.

Aviva found that 23% of Brits lack confidence to begin investing and say they don’t know where to start, while 16% find it complicated. A further 11% believe you need a lot of money to start investing initially and 47% said they don’t have any spare money to invest.

The firm stated that when people do invest, at the heart of these decisions is a desire to make their money work harder for them.

Its research showed that among those who already invest, 49% agree that rate of return, or growth, are the most important factors when considering investments. These are followed by other considerations such as low fees and costs (39%), individual risk tolerance (32%) and how much of an appetite they have for riskier opportunities.

Over a quarter (28%) would look at the reputation of the financial institution and 22% would look at their past performance record. Aviva said that surprisingly, only 18% think about tax relief when making their choices.

Head of investments for consumer wealth at Aviva, Donato Boccardi, stated: "Investing plays a vital role in helping people grow their wealth over the long term, and we want more consumers to benefit from the opportunities it offers.

"Too many people are missing out because they believe investing is out of reach, when in reality if you start small and build gradually you can make meaningful progress."

---