More UK employees are investing in the companies they are working for - but most are only in it for the money, according to a new study from norwichunion.com.
More UK employees are investing in the companies they are working for - but most are only in it for the money, according to a new study from norwichunion.com.
Calls during the 1980s for more workers to buy shares in the businesses that employed them were aimed at making them feel they had a stake in the company
But the survey by norwichunion.com - Norwich Union's online personal finance service - found that most had bought shares purely for financial gain.
Nearly a quarter of the adult working population owns shares in the company they worked for, but nearly two thirds of them felt that their investment didn't actually give them any sense of company ownership.
Fewer than one in ten of the shareholders said they had acquired company shares because they wanted to play a role in their company’s future. Only 15 per cent actually believed that their shares represented a good investment.
Rob Davies, brand manager, norwichunion.com, said: "The idea that staff who own shares in their company will somehow feel more involved in its success doesn’t appear to ring true in the majority of cases."
"Our research shows that the overwhelming reason for owning company shares is as a means of making money (23 per cent) with very few employees seeing share ownership as being linked to their individual performance or that of their colleagues.
“We also know that most people who own shares simply keep them for a rainy day and don't actively trade. That said, the internet has seen increasing numbers of online traders, in this country, though the UK still lags behind other European countries like Germany where online trading is three times higher than in Britain.
"However, the internet provides the new wave of UK investors with a great opportunity to close the gap on our Euro- neighbours, as they are likely to want to take a more active role in managing their share portfolios."
Most people are put off trading shares by the perceived complexity of dealing and remain happy to just sit on the shares they’ve got, potentially missing out on some of the bargains the stock market is currently offering.
Simply doing nothing at a time when a number of commentators are suggesting that now is the time to invest for medium or long term gain may be costing investors millions.
norwichunion.com has launched an online share dealing service designed to help people buy and sell shares easily and conveniently. With a trade costing as little as Ł5*, and helpful and jargon-free tools to guide you - including a virtual portfolio** that allows possible investments to be tracked without spending a penny - the service aims to change people’s perceptions that share trading is only for experienced investors by making it straightforward and accessible.
norwichunion.com's online share dealing service can only found at www.norwichunion.com.
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Press contact:
David Ross at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 65
Notes to editors
- **Please remember that past performance is no guide to future performance. These are risk investments and their value, and any income from them can go down as well as up.
- This survey was carried out by Taylor Nelson Sofres between 18-20 January 2002. 1,003 people, aged 16+, were interviewed on the telephone across the UK.
- norwichunion.com was launched in May 2001 and provides a comprehensive range of free, interactive financial planning tools and impartial money guides, designed to help people make better financial decisions by making complex money matters simple.
- A fund supermarket ISA, offered by NUSOF.com Limited, and share dealing service are the first in a range of products that will subsequently include a number of banking products.
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer offering a comprehensive range of long-term savings and general insurance products.
- Norwich Union’s news releases are available on this internet site
- A selection of images is available from the Norwich Union Newscast site at www.newscast.co.uk
- An ISDN facility is available for studio quality interviews. Call the press office on 08703 66 68 68
For life and pension media enquiries 08703 66 68 73 For all other media enquiries 08703 66 68 68
*The Ł5 per deal plus stamp duty and PTM levy, if applicable, is a special offer which commenced on 7 January 2002 and will finish on 31 March 2002. The operation of this special offer is entirely within our discretion, further we reserve the right to withdraw the special offer at anytime. An additional Ł5 will be charged for trading over the phone and from 1 April 2002 our standard pricing for share dealing will apply. Please note that there are additional quarterly management charges of Ł9.95 once you have set up your account online. Please read the full terms and conditions on the norwichunion.com web site for important details.
The norwichunion.com online share dealing service is provided by Pershing Securities Limited (Pershing) who are regulated by the Financial Services Authority and are members of the London Stock Exchange and LIFFE and are members of the London Stock Exchange and LIFFE. By using the service, customers will form a contract with Pershing and all share trades effected by customers will be with Pershing. To market the service, Norwich Union Wealth Management Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority for investment business.