SAVERS LOSING FAITH IN BANKS / THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Savers losing faith in banks

By David Oakley

Published: September 27 2009 21:45

People trust themselves to look after their own savings and investments more than banks, building societies or independent financial advisers, according to a survey in the US and Europe.

As the Financial Times launches a series on the future of investing, the poll showed high levels of uncertainty among householders over where to put their money.

In spite of the financial crisis, many people in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have not changed their investment choices or the amount of risk they have taken on in their investments in the past two years, according to the FT/Harris Poll.

When asked who they trusted most to look after their savings and investments, the majority of respondents in all countries said themselves. Banks and building society advisers came a distant second and very few people said they trusted an investment company adviser or stockbroker. When asked who they trusted less in the current financial crisis many said banks and building society advisers and investment company advisers.

“Over the past few years I have gone to three or four different independent financial advisers but have not been impressed with the service from any of them. None of them seemed to have my best interests in mind,” said Andy Bedwell, a UK consultant who invests through execution-only stockbroker, The Share Centre.

“I’ve learnt to do my own analysis and make my own decisions on where to put my money.”

The poll also highlighted a lack of confidence in the protection that governments offer to investors. Most respondents said they did not think investors were adequately protected.

On where to invest, most respondents in Italy and France said property; in Germany, Britain and Spain savings accounts came top, while in the US opinion was divided between savings accounts and stocks and bonds. While a majority of respondents in all European countries and the US have not changed the amount of risk in their portfolios, three in 10 Americans, one in four French and Germans and one in five Italians and Britons said they were now taking less risk. In Spain, three in 10 have reported that they were willing to take more risk.

Majorities in Britain, Germany and France said they had not changed their attitudes towards investing in the stock market compared with two years ago, while in Italy the majority said they were less likely to invest in stocks and shares. In Spain and the US an equal proportion have either said their attitude has stayed the same or they were less likely to invest in stocks and shares.

Most Britons, half of the French and a large number of Italians, Spaniards, Germans and Americans all had most of their savings or investments in banks or building societies. This was followed by investment in property in Italy, Spain and Germany and shares and bonds in Britain and the US. In France, investment in property and shares was equally popular.

The survey also found that the British, Spanish and Germans thought the US was the greatest threat to global security; the French feared China the most, while the Italians picked out Iran and Americans Iraq.

The online poll involved 6,324 adults in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US.

The respondents were aged 16 to 64 in France (1,063); Germany (1,017); Britain (1,118); Spain (1,016) and the US (1,010); and adults aged between 18 to 64 in Italy (1,030) between August 26 and September 2.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009