Recent InvestEngine survey reveals West Midlands could rival London as UK investing hub

InvestEngine: West Midlands rivals London as the UK’s retail investing hub 

• New survey by InvestEngine reveals that, during the pandemic, the West Midlands has turned to investing in the stock market more than any other region outside of London – but investors are in need of guidance
• InvestEngine’s new DIY Platform gives investors the tools to set a new standard of long-term investing
• Innovative portfolio-first investing features including smart top-ups and one-click rebalancing  
• Choice of 150+ expert-selected ETFs 
• Commission-free dealing with NO account charges*
• £50 welcome bonus for new customers 

London, 7^th July 2021: According to a new survey from investment platform InvestEngine, 46% of those from the West Midlands have invested more since the start of the pandemic, showcasing the region’s potential to rise to prominence as one of the UK’s main investment hubs.

The proliferation of investment apps has removed many of the barriers to entry into the stock market, and investing is increasingly becoming more democratised. Combined with rising inflation and minimal interest rates, the UK public is increasingly turning to investing to give their money the chance to work for them more effectively than storing it in savings accounts.

But when looking at the motivations behind this increase in investing activity in the West Midlands, the data reveals a worrying trend.

The prospect of making a big return in a short period of time, West Midlands’ respondents shared, was the most important factor for 40% of respondents when looking to invest more. Meanwhile, only 27% cited wanting to diversify their portfolio as their primary reason for increasing their investment activity.

And more than a third of investors in the region agreed that the recent media frenzy around investments in GameStop and Dogecoin was the second reason they wanted to invest more, further highlighting a worrying trend of media-influenced, inexperienced trading surpassing considered investing.

InvestEngine is taking the lead and offering investors across the spectrum a sophisticated, user-friendly platform to automate their long-term investing with the launch of its DIY platform.

Andrey Dobrynin, Managing Director, InvestEngine, comments: “It’s wonderful to see more people across the UK realise the benefits of investing – particularly in the West Midlands, with the region set to be among the fastest to recover from lockdown restrictions. But there’s a real concern around what sparks novice investors’ enthusiasm for investing and investment platforms must take a share of the responsibility.

However, we were reassured by our research indicating that investors in the West Midlands are looking for solutions that will help them invest for the long-term.

We’ve listened to investors and built our platform around these desires — giving users the ability to build diversified portfolios and simplify their long-term investing in-line with their personal strategies. And, with the region’s appetite to learn and become better investors, the West Midlands certainly has the momentum to challenge London as the UK’s personal investing hub.”

Further reducing the barriers to entry when it comes to investing, InvestEngine has lowered its minimum investment from £2000 to just £100, and upon joining the platform, investors are met with a £50 welcome bonus.

You can find out more about InvestEngine’s DIY Platform here.

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