On a global level, 48% of the population cannot afford to invest, according to research carried out in January 2008 by Henley Centre Headlight Vision for Aviva plc.
- 66% can't afford to invest
- 18% state that they don't invest because the interest rate on savings is too low
- 17% state that they are held back by a credit arrangement or a loan
- 63% prefer to have instant access to their savings
On a global level, 48% of the population cannot afford to invest, according to research carried out in January 2008 by Henley Centre Headlight Vision for Aviva plc.
Amongst Central and Eastern European countries, Romania ranks last but one. 66% of Romanians state that they can't afford to invest, surpassed in this only by the Hungarians, 77% of whom say that they can't afford to make investments. At the opposite end of the table are Russia and the Czech Republic, where 34% and 37% respectively of the population can't afford to invest.
Romanians are also dissatisfied with the interest rate on savings, with 18% prevented from investing by the extremely low profit gained from putting their savings into financial instruments. 17% of the Romanian population say that having a credit arrangement or a loan makes any potential investments unachievable.
The need to have access to savings at all times is another factor preventing Romanians from making long-term investments, with 63% of them selecting this option. This same attitude towards long-term savings can be observed in the majority of East Europeans: 74% in Hungary, 68% in Lithuania, 66% in Russia and Poland and 70% in the Czech Republic. At the other end of the table in Europe are Germany and Spain, where only 44% of the population state that they want to have instant access to their money.
"Lack of financial awareness, decisions taken in the absence of professional advice and lack of confidence in their own ability to invest are preventing Romanians from achieving their full potential in terms of developing their finances. Aviva is meeting its customers' requirements for information by offering free financial advice", states Shah Rouf, CEO Aviva Romania.
-ends-
The point of contact for further information:
Lavinia Orăscu - Brand Communication Co-ordinator
Telephone: 0723 310 378
E-mail: lavinia.orascu@aviva.ro
Note for editors:
None of the findings of the Aviva survey may be reproduced without acknowledging the source: Aviva Life Insurance.
The Consumer Attitudes to Savings survey was undertaken in 2004 in 11 countries, in 2005 in 16 countries, in 21 countries in 2006 and in 2008 in 25 countries. Romania was included in the survey for the first time in 2006. The countries in which the research was carried out in 2008 are: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Russia, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Romania, Lithuania, Belgium, China, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the United States of America, Canada.
About the Aviva Group
Aviva is the oldest insurance group in the world and the largest in Great Britain, dating back to 1696.
Today, Aviva has 57,000 employees and 45 million customers in 27 countries across the world.
The group is the market leader for life insurance and pensions in Europe, leading on the majority of the markets in which it operates.
Aviva has revenue from insurance premiums* and investments totalling €54.3 billion and administers over €491 billion worth of funds.**
Aviva Group Romania
Aviva Group Romania includes three companies: Aviva Life Insurance, Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension Fund, Certinvest (purchased on 13 September 2007).
About Aviva Life Insurance and Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pensions Fund
Aviva began operating as a provider of life insurance in Romania in 2000 and currently insures over 1,100,000 customers.
On 26 July 2007, Aviva received approval from the Oversight Committee for the System of Private Pensions to set up a company to administer private pensions (Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension Fund SA), and on 25 August received authorisation to administer its mandatory pension fund - Pensia Viva.
About Certinvest
Certinvest currently administers €15 million in four mutual funds, each of them based around a different type of investment: Intercapital (a shares fund), Capital Plus (a diversified fund), Orizont (a fixed-income - bonds - fund) and Tezaur (a capital market fund). Certinvest also administers individual investment accounts.
Certinvest has shown throughout the years that it is one of the most dynamic and innovative administrators in the market. The company launched the first commission-free sales fund on the Romanian market (Tezaur) and the first bonds fund in Romania (Orizont).
Certinvest is also proud to support the growing investment funds market in Romania.
* according to new sales from 31 December 2007
** at an exchange rate of 1 GBP/ 1.33 EUR