New Aviva research reveals one in three Brits ‘don’t know enough’ about investing

New research from Aviva reveals that more than half of Brits (55%) have no investments and a third of those who do not invest (33%) say it’s because they don’t know enough about investing.

The research shows that 39% are put off by thinking investing is too risky and they worry that they’ll lose money, compared to leaving it in a current or savings account. Nearly a quarter (23%) lack confidence to begin investing and say they don’t know where to start, while 16% find it complicated.  A further 11% believe you need a lot of money to start investing in the first place and 47% said they don’t have any spare money to invest.

When people do invest, at the heart of these decisions is a desire the make their money work harder for them. Aviva’s research showed that among those who already invest, 49% agree that rate of return, or growth, are the most important factors when considering investments, followed by other considerations such as low fees and costs (39%); individual risk tolerance (32%) and how much of an appetite they have for riskier opportunities. Over a quarter (28%) would look at the reputation of the financial institution and over one fifth would look at their past performance record (22%). Surprisingly, only 18% think about tax relief when making their choices.

As the largest Wealth provider in the UK today^[1], Aviva has unveiled a major new campaign designed to ‘shine a light on investments’ and give people the confidence and support they need to help them take their first - or next - step into investing. The Bank of England reports that almost £300bn of household savings is sitting in accounts paying little or no interest^[2] and at a time when consumers across the UK are being encouraged the make more of their savings, Aviva’s insight shows that the core barrier is not access or information, but confidence and trust and the new campaign aims to reframe investing as something clear, accessible and reassuring, rather than overwhelming.

Donato Boccardi, Head of Investments, Consumer Wealth at Aviva said: “Investing plays a vital role in helping people grow their wealth over the long term, and we want more consumers to benefit from the opportunities it offers. At Aviva, we invest with a regulated, long-term approach designed to deliver balanced outcomes for our customers. Too many people are missing out because they believe investing is out of reach, when in reality if you start small and build gradually you can make meaningful progress. Our focus is on giving people the tools, confidence and support to take that first step and to stay invested for their future.”

The new investment campaign launches on Monday, 16 February across TV, social, digital, radio and television.  

Separately, Aviva has also joined forces with several other leading providers in an industry-wide UK Retail Investment campaign, supported by His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), with the Investment Association (IA) to launch the UK’s first ever national, educational investment campaign in April 2026.

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References:

_{Methodology: The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,000 national representative consumers. The data was collected between 26.01.2026 - 28.01.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.}

^1. _{UK's largest wealth provider | Aviva [↑]}

^2. _{Bank of England Database [↑]}

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