Fixed deposits a top choice among investors young and old

80% of investors of all ages, including those in their 20s, have such accounts: Survey

- Tan Ooi Boon

We live in an age with an ever-expanding and often bewilderingrange of investment options, yet the top choice for many young and older folk now turns out to be the humble, dull but dependable fixed deposit.

The finding, which comes in the wake of rising interest rates in the last couple of years, is unusual because about 80 per cent of investors of all ages, including those in the 21 to 30 age group, have such accounts.

Many younger investors used to avoid parking any money in fixed deposits, let alone put the account as one of their preferred "investments".

Although respondents also prefer government bonds and special savings accounts that offer higher rates on the first $100,000, the fixed deposit is likely to be the dominant product because everyone knows how it works and bank customers can also move their funds into such deposits online.

The ease of making online transactions also signals changes in share investing, noted the Fullerton Fund Management survey, which polled 500 investors who had $40,000 to over $500,000 to invest.

For instance, the numerous online trading platforms appear to have attracted many investors here to dabble in overseas stocks, especially popular technology stocks in the United States, such as Tesla, Nvidia and Apple.

Such stocks are known to be highly volatile in their price swings, and the survey highlights a worrying trend that 60 per cent of investors here do not have investment portfolios that are well diversified.

This means that some of them could be heavily invested in just one stock and thus face higher risk if the value of the stock plunges.

PROPERTY AND CPF NOT ENOUGH?

It is clear from the poll that financial literacy is often a work in progress, with many people saying that they cannot rely on property and the CPF two popular asset classes that many swear by - for retirement.