According to a survey commissioned by Financial Technology group ayondo, about one in four (26%) retail investors are considering Social Trading in 2018. In the survey of UK retail investors conducted by OnePoll, participants are quizzed about their investment habits, along with what they felt were the main barriers to success in the stock markets.
- A survey of UK equity investors reveals: A third (33%) say a traditional stockmarket approach is overcomplex, which can be simplified by automatically following Top Traders
- Social Trading allows investors to follow experts’ moves, meaning they can effectively trade the markets without excessive time-commitment
- The model appears to suit most investors. 52% say they always seek advice from experts or peers before making any decision
The results indicate that many people are leaning towards Social Trading because they find traditional investing overcomplex and time-consuming. When asked what prevented them from being more successful investors, almost half (44%) cited their lack of knowledge and experience of the markets, while a third (33%) said that investing was too complicated. A similar proportion (32%) said that they were held back by time constraints.
Social Trading offers retail investors a solution to these common issues, as it allows people to share and follow Top Traders’ investment moves, proportionally and on a real-time basis.
This means that users can effectively trade in the markets without having to consistently spend time and effort carrying out their own research.
This model would appear to suit most investors. In the study, 52% of respondents stated that they always refer to the opinion of experts or peers before making any investment decisions.
Mita Natarajan
Mita Natarajan, Chief Business Development Officer ayondo said:
Becoming a successful investor requires a huge amount of commitment. Many people don’t have the time to research stocks or watch the markets and they can end up losing money as a result. A practical solution to this is to let experts make the decisions for you, which is where Social Trading comes in.
Ayondo went public in a $16 million IPO earlier this year on the Singapore Exchange and posted a $6.3 million loss in Q1.