Abrdn has called for Britain to deliver a ‘big bang’ by scrapping stamp duty on shares after figures showed UK retail investment in the stock market is the lowest in the G7.
A report by the fund manager showed that – excluding pensions – British savers hold just 8 per cent of their wealth in equities and mutual funds, compared with 33 per cent in the US.
Britain also trails the other members of the G7 group of advanced nations – Canada, Italy, France, Japan and Germany.
Xavier Meyer, chief executive of investments at Abrdn, said: ‘When it comes to investing in equities outside of our pensions, the UK is streets behind many developed countries.’
Untapped investment: A report by fund manager Abrdn showed that – excluding pensions – British savers hold just 8% of their wealth in equities and mutual funds
Increasing the proportion of UK wealth invested in shares to the same as that in the US could inject up to £3.5 trillion into capital markets, Abrdn’s report argued.
Much of that could go into London-listed stocks, helping to revive the beleaguered market.
The report proposed the easiest method would be to scrap the stamp duty levy that charges 0.5 per cent on UK share transactions.
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund dealing and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month
Saxo
Saxo
Get £200 back in trading fees
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free dealing and no account fee
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Compare the best investing account for you
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk