What do investors want in the UK?

It’s nice to see people in real life because today it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between what’s AI slop and what is someone’s actual opinion. Which is why I was very glad to see that the panel at the Investor Summit, was standing room only.

The topic – what do investors want? Obviously, the answer is to make more money and pay lower fees.

But according to the panel which included Stacey Parsons, Managing Director, RetailBook, Tom Selby, Director of Public Policy, AJ Bell, Camilla Esmund, Head of Investor Campaigns, interactive investor, Anna Locke, Brokerage Product, Fidelity International and, Tim Jacobs, Head of Primary Markets, Hargreaves Lansdown, investors also want access, choice, simple language and stability.

Most of all, they want investing to be easier. Which I completely agree with. For most, investing is a hassle, just like everything else, and even the smallest friction point can stop people doing it.

Investors want the same opportunities as institutions

Tim Jacobs, Head of Primary Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, recalled his clients’ frustration at seeing companies’ share price correct after they announced capital raises whilst they couldn’t participate alongside institutional investors.

That is beginning to change. Recent reforms have made it easier to include retail investors in fundraisings, giving ordinary shareholders what Jacobs described as a “seat at the table”.

He said primary markets have been one of HL’s fastest-growing areas, with volumes increasing 5,900% over five years.

Investors want simple language

Camilla Esmund of interactive investor said the industry also needs to get better at explaining itself, but removing jargon doesn’t mean removing important information. Investors still need to understand risks and how products work, but information can be presented in a way that relates to their lives.

What was quite nice was that the panel didn’t completely blame the regulators – the industry’s constant use of warnings such as “capital at risk” is a problem they created themselves to protect themselves.

Investing involves risk, but repeatedly leading with warnings can make investing appear more intimidating than other long-term financial decisions.

Investors want more choice

Jacobs said that today’s private investor also wants more than shares as treasury bills had become one of HL’s most popular primary-market products, while more than 100,000 customers held gilts. ETFs are also becoming increasingly important, particularly among younger investors, because they can provide a relatively straightforward and low-cost way to diversify.

Investors are also increasingly interested in opportunities previously difficult to access, including overseas IPOs and private markets.

Investors want digital access – and they want it quickly

Investors increasingly expect investing to work like the rest of their digital lives.

Fidelity’s Anna Lock said simple digital journeys were now effectively “table stakes”. And the idea that retail investors need days to make decisions is being challenged: Jacobs described a recent capital raise where hundreds of customers submitted applications during a window lasting just three hours.

Investors want stability

The simplest request, though, is for government to stop moving the goalposts.

As they do every time, there is a flip flop from red to blue or blue to red.

AJ Bell’s Tom Selby argued that years of changes to pensions and ISAs have created unnecessary uncertainty for people making decisions that may affect them for decades.

Investors don’t necessarily need another new investment product or government initiative. They want fair access to opportunities, information they can understand, digital tools that make investing straightforward and confidence that the rules won’t suddenly change.