Quarterly Outlook
Equity outlook: The high cost of global fragmentation for US portfolios
Charu Chanana
Chief Investment Strategist
Saxo Group
Summary: The year 2020 brought the world many surprises that spurred a volatile market. As the market fluctuated, so did the types of individuals who signed up to our global platforms.
Since January 2020, we've noticed an influx of interest from retail investors, but how much of an impact has this interest had on the average demographics of our users?
Looking at our aggregated client base, we've been able to see the shift of the average profile of a trader in the UK and abroad has changed over the year. Additionally, we are able to see how events such as COVID-19 influenced the most traded stocks over the 14 months.
2020 was a big year in terms of trading, but it seems that interest in the stock market is reaching a younger audience than ever. We’ve found that the demographic of people trading stocks has in the UK has shifted, with the average age of a trader dropping across the board.
Trader Type (Jan-March 2020) | Average Age |
Male | 39 |
Female | 41 |
Trader Type (Jan-March 2021) | Average Age |
Male | 35 |
Female | 38 |
The average age of a UK trader decreased by six years between January 2020 and February 2021, this represents a significant percentage drop of 14.7% and indicates that a new generation of traders could be on the rise. However, the data shows that the age of new traders is now on the rise in March 2021*.
When looking at this on a gender basis, the average age of both male and female traders decreased over the last year.
Typically, female traders tend to be slightly older. At the beginning of last year, the average age of a female trader in the UK was 42, but this dropped by five years down to 37 – a drop of 11.3%.
Meanwhile, male traders are, on average, 35 years old. For men, the drop in average age since the beginning of 2020 has also been five years, down from 40 (13.6%).
There’s a clear shift towards a younger age group taking an interest in trading, across both genders.