Italian families sent back in financial knowledge. The 2016 Consob Report on the investment choices of Italian families confirms the low level of financial knowledge of Italian families with more than 20% of those interviewed declaring that they are not familiar with any financial instrument and 8% of those who invest that do not know what they own, while the remaining 80% mostly indicate government bonds and bank bonds.
Only 40% of respondents are able to correctly define some basic notions such as inflation and the relationship between risk and return, while more sophisticated concepts related to popular products record percentages as low as 11%. The vast majority of respondents do not understand the concept of negative interest rates or are aware of innovative phenomena such as automated advice. The other theme is the great aversion to risk and obtaining returns lower than expected.
Only 4 out of 10 Italians have the "know how" to invest. The level of financial knowledge, mostly homogeneous between men and women, is higher among the more educated individuals and residents of northern Italy. The reduced financial literacy significantly affects the understanding of market trends and new economic phenomena. 24% of those interviewed decide their own investments independently, 38% follow the suggestions of family and colleagues, 28% ask for advice from a professional and only 10% delegate an expert. The recourse to professional consultancy grows with the increase in financial literacy.
Half investment in deposits. Based on the data contained in the 2016 Consob Report, from 2007 to today, over half of the investment portfolio of Italians is made up of bank and postal deposits, while the share of wealth held in shares and government bonds has decreased. Conversely, the share of households owning Italian bank bonds, the most widespread product at the end of 2015, increased.
After 2007, according to the Report, the composition of the portfolio of Italian investors reflected the increased interest in bank and postal deposits, the incidence of which on total assets rose from 38% in 2007 to 52% in 2015 against the decrease in share of wealth held in shares (-43%) and public debt securities (-23%). At the end of 2015, in particular, the share of households that owned at least one financial product stood at 50% of the total compared to 55% in 2007.
