• Doug Morris, CEO at Sharesight


• 07.04.2026 03:45 pm
#InvestorInsights #DataClarity

From football to music, the UK has plenty to be proud of, but levels of personal investment are unfortunately not among them. When compared to other major economies, the UK has a relatively weak retail investing culture. In fact, FCA data from 2025 indicates that British households only allocate an average of 19% of their household financial assets to retail investments, compared with 38% in the EU and 56% in the US.

At the same time, the FCA has also highlighted that there are about 7 million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings who may be missing out on the benefits of investing over their lifetimes. All of this matters, because over time, lower participation in investing can translate into weaker personal wealth accumulation and less financial resilience outside pension structures.

The UK has world-class financial infrastructure, yet many people still remain on the sidelines when it comes to investing. While access is no longer the obstacle it once was, confidence continues to hold people back. A decade ago, the main challenge was getting people into the market. Today, that part is far easier. Anyone with a smartphone can open a trading account in minutes. 

However, access alone does not create confidence. Being able to open an account is not the same as feeling informed about what to do with it. The bigger issue now is clarity. Many people are not avoiding investing because the tools are unavailable to them, but because they do not feel they understand their investments well enough to act with confidence. In that sense, the barrier has shifted from access to understanding.

VISIBILITY ISN’T CLARITY

This lack of uptake may seem counterintuitive at a time when retail investing has never been more accessible. However, perhaps Britons realise access and understanding are not the same thing. While it may be easier than ever to open a trading account, receive real-time market data and consume a constant stream of financial commentary, none of that replaces the level of understanding needed to make sound investment decisions.

In today’s landscape, investors rarely suffer from an absence of information, however that information can be fragmented. A broker app may show a balance and a return figure, but not explain what is driving performance across income, fees, foreign exchange or portfolio concentration. Likewise, a market headline may highlight a sudden fall or a new rally, but offer little help in determining whether that’s relevant to a long-term investment plan. 

The financial services industry has invested heavily in making it easier for people to buy and sell investments. Far less attention, however, has been paid to the infrastructure that helps investors understand what they actually own and how their portfolios are performing as a whole. That distinction matters. 

Tools that make investing possible are not the same as tools that make investing understandable. One helps people enter the market; the other helps them make sense of what happens once they are in it. It is that understanding which often separates investors who act with conviction from those who hesitate.

A RETHINK IS REQUIRED

Essentially, if clients do not have the investment literacy to interpret their portfolio data, they are left to draw their own conclusions. Short-term fluctuations can feel disproportionately significant, and normal market volatility may be mistaken for underperformance or poor decision-making. Without context, data invites emotional responses rather than rational ones, which only deepens the problem. 

Closing that disconnect therefore requires a broader rethink of what client communication actually means. It cannot be defined by scheduled reviews or periodic performance reports alone. Effective support now needs to be continuous, combining transparency with explanation and reassurance. That’s why, at Sharesight, we believe the issue goes beyond information alone. It is fundamentally an infrastructure problem.

THE NEXT STEP

When investors are managing positions across multiple platforms without a unified view of performance, good decision-making becomes much harder. Fragmentation makes it difficult to understand how a portfolio is performing overall, which in turn undermines confidence. What tends to make the biggest difference is bringing everything together in one place. When investors can see their holdings clearly and understand performance in the round, they are in a far stronger position to make decisions with confidence and purpose.

If that can be achieved, more people across the UK who are not currently investing may begin to feel confident enough to do so. Over time, that could help the country take more deliberate steps towards improving its long-term financial security, at a moment when that matters more than ever. It will require a coordinated effort across the market, but it is a goal that now feels both urgent and achievable.

For more information about Sharesight, please visit: https://www.sharesight.com/uk/