Sizing the retail investor market: an analysis of the Western European market
31 March 2014
In the second of three reports that analyze the retail investor market, this report addresses six Western European countries with respect to their retail investor market, country’s overall economic health, regulatory drivers, and wealth management market maturity and sophistication. Celent will conclude by stating its findings on these six countries and in which of these countries wealth management solutions providers should focus their attention in the near term. The other report in this series is entitled, Sizing the Retail Investor Market: An Analysis of the North and Latin American Markets and Sizing the Retail Investor Market: An Analysis of the Asian Market. The following countries are included in this report: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. European retail investors are a diverse group with differing levels of affluence, investment knowledge, preferences, and expertise. Factors such as investor confidence and regulatory reform in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the ongoing European debt crisis are some of the many factors influencing the size and characteristics of the retail investor market. Since the financial crisis, there has been a mixed growth rate across Europe in terms of retail investor population. A few of the many factors contributing to the retail investor population growth rate include: cultural and historical views towards financial markets, loss and recovery of financial asset due to financial crisis, and more stringent regulations of financial markets. It is without question that the financial markets play a significant role in European household and personal wealth regardless of country (albeit to varying degrees). The other report in this series is entitled, Sizing the Retail Investor Market: An Analysis of the North and Latin American Markets and Sizing the Retail Investor Market: An Analysis of the Asian Market. This series of reports will be available to subscribers in Q2 2014.