| UK households enjoy growth in wealth over first nine months of 2021 The "Consumer Savers and Investors Market Report 2022" report published this week examines the market for consumer savings and investments, with a central focus on the types of savings and investment products consumers own, how much they are saving and investing and the environmental framework in which savings and investments are made.
This year the report found that at the end of September 2021, UK households collectively held over GBP4 trillion in non-pension financial assets, with their accumulated wealth having risen by around 5 per cent between December 2020 and September 2021.
Which is just as well as they are going to need it – money management app Plum’s research revealed nearly a third (32 per cent) of families do not have any savings for a rainy day, highlighting the pressure that millions of households could be under with rising living costs.
With inflation at
a 30-year high, UK households are struggling to pay their bills and save their cash. On average, the total amount saved by 500,000 Plum customers in January 2022 fell by -39 per cent year-on-year, and just a quarter (25 per cent) of Brits say they have a "healthy" pot of money saved for a rainy day, while a further 43 per cent have a small amount set aside, according to the research.
Rising inflation lies at the door of many a restricted savings plan, but this time around the inflation is being driven largely by energy price increases. Maybe the solution lies in investing in energy. Our In My Opinion this week comes from the perspective of investing in the Gulf, with Jubin Jose, manager of London-listed Gulf Investment Fund plc, writing that, within the Gulf, Qatar is the biggest beneficiary of rising energy prices, given that it has the world’s third biggest reserves of gas.
Beverly Chandler, managing editor, Wealth Adviser
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