This year, Polish individual investors focus on diversification

The latest Puls Investor Individual survey, conducted by the social investment network eToro shows that Polish investors are diversifying their portfolios and looking for more opportunities abroad, without giving up their interest in the local Polish market.

• Polish individual investors diversify their portfolios in 2023by selecting new asset classes to ease market turmoil
• Inflation is still perceived as the biggest threat to investments
• Three out of four Polish individual investors are confident in their investments and job security, but they are worried about the standard of living

The results of a quarterly survey of 10 individual investors in 000 countries, including 13 in Poland, indicate that after more than a year of very turbulent markets, individual investors now have well-diversified portfolios, looking for opportunities in various markets and asset classes.

Percentage of Polish individual investors holding shares listed abroad or planning to buy them in the next three months increased from 41 percent. at the end of 2022 to 49 percent. at the end of March. Despite exploring international opportunities, domestic equities remain the most popular asset with 67% of shares. invests or plans to invest in local stocks in the next three months. Foreign stocks are most popular among investors in the 18-34 age group, with 62 percent, and the least popular among investors in the 55+ age group, with only 28 percent. owning them or planning to invest in them.

After 15 months of weak markets, Polish individual investors are increasingly frequent diversify their investments targeting different asset classes. Over the next three months, respondents plan to increase their allocation to commodities (26%), domestic bonds (22%) and currencies (24%).

Polish investors remain strong despite difficult conditions

The current market volatility affects the decisions of Polish investors. They are not too concerned about the future of the labor market - 75% feels safe about it. In addition, three in four (76 percent) are confident in their investments. Still, a quarter (25%) of respondents are unsure of their income and standard of living. More than half of the respondents (51 percent) are concerned about the Polish economy, and 49 percent. about the world economy.

Calculating the risk to their portfolios in the near future, over the next three months (27%) inflation is the biggest concern. Almost one in four (23%) also continues to feel concerned about the impact of international conflict.

When looking at this quarter's overall tally, it's important to consider the motives behind some investment choices and strategies. About 47 percent of respondents admit that they invest to ensure their sense of security, which explains the approach of "don't put all your eggs in one basket". In turn, 29 percent declares that he invests in order to overcome the effects of inflation by hedging his capital in a variety of inflation-resistant assets.

Commenting on the latest report, Paweł Majtkowski, Market Analyst at eToro, said:

Polish investors are definitely cold-blooded. In times of increased market volatility, as much as 76 percent. is confident in its strategy and composition of the investment portfolio. On the other hand, as much as 75% of of Poles consider their job safe during the economic slowdown and are not afraid of losing it. Increased investor confidence is also due to the increasing level of diversification. Poles are increasingly choosing foreign assets, because investing in them has never been as easy and cheap as it is now.

Co dalej?

In the spirit of diversification, Polish investors plan to extend their investments outside Poland. About 33 percent thinks over the next twelve months, the US market will prove favorable, 18 percent believe that it is worth putting their portfolios on European markets, and 10 percent. believes that Chinese and emerging markets will be attractive this year.

According to the eToro survey, 56 percent. of Polish individual investors expect to increase their current investment budget in the near future. Last quarter, 53 percent declared an increase in the amount they invest, so we are dealing with a slight increase in appetite.