A survey organised by Nordea in the Baltics about personal finances, savings and investments highlights the need to make savings to ensure financial security in the future. Results show that in Latvia 23 % of the respondents when losing income could not cover any regular monthly expenses, 5 % could cover expenses for less than a month but 20 % for only one month.
The survey clearly shows that the respondents understand the value of creating savings. In Latvia 73 % of respondents agree that it is definitely or more likely to be worth making long-term investments when thinking about retirement. Even more respondents, 84 %, indicate that it is important for them to make savings for the future; and 77 % agree it is important to save to have financial stability.
Unfortunately, despite the positive attitudes towards creating financial stability, in Latvia 32 % of respondents don’t have any savings and 90 % have no or little knowledge about investments. This could be one of the reasons why 25 % of respondents still keep their savings in cash.
In Latvia, 38 % of respondents trust unprofessional sources, or sources that are not secure (such as friends, bloggers or information in social media) in regard to financial affairs and investments. This can be linked to opinions that investing in financial instruments is not beneficial and leads to risk or losses. Meanwhile, 36 % of respondents believe that investments are risky or meant only for professionals.
“The survey shows that professionals must be very active to emphasise the need to make savings for the future. We have all the necessary expertise and tools to help people organise their finances. It is interesting to see that 48 % of respondents state that if they won 10 000 euros in a lottery they would want to make savings in some way,” says Anželika Dobrovoļska, Head of Nordea Investment Advice and Offering in the Baltic States. “The fact that there is almost no knowledge about investments is a signal for us to show customers how to manage their investments using our knowledge and experience”.
Despite global economic instability, 58% of respondents in Latvia believe their income will increase in the next 5 years. Nordea invites customers to use this opportunity and part of the increased income use to create savings or to invest in tools that can bring profit and strengthen their financial security in the long run.
Results in the Baltics:
Online seminar on socially responsible investments
In order to increase customers’ knowledge and confidence towards investing, Nordea invites to join an on-line seminar on socially responsible investments and other investment-related topics held on May 25th (Thursday) at 10AM.
* The online survey was organized by SIA "Omnicom Media Group" using "European Society for Opinion and Market Research" (ESOMAR; esomar.org) standards. The survey was held in April 2017 and included 2293 respondents in all Baltic countries in the age group of 18-65.