I am 11.6 million Italians who invest in mutual funds, increasing DAGLThe 11.1 million of the previous observatory. The escapes were in fact counterbalanced by theentrance of about 1.5 million new subscribers. The total value invested by families reached 608 billion euros: Assogestioni presented the update today in Milan of the annual observatory on the subscribers of mutual funds in Italy, edited by the Association’s Studies Office. The updated data at the end of 2024 return an articulated photography of the audience of Italian investors: a population that expands, differs in age, preferences and methods of access to the market and which, by size and heterogeneity, confirms the democratic nature of the common fund as a tool for managing savings.
More and more Italians choose mutual funds
“From our census it emerges that in 2024 About one and a half million Italians invested for the first time in mutual fundsentering the universe of the undersigned by law and increasing the overall figure of about 500,000 units. A number that, if related to the entire population of the country, brings the participation rate at 19.7% and that confirms that One in five Italians He chooses to entrust part of his savings to this tool“, He said Alessandro RotaDirector of Studies Office, Assogestioni.
The average value invested stands at 52,000 eurosgrowing compared to last year, thanks both to new flows and to the favorable trend of the markets. The figure on the median investment hides, however, a high asset concentration: 25% of investors, belonging to the highest quartile, hold about 75% of the total massesin line with the estimates of the Bank of Italy, according to which 30% of the oldest families hold 80% of the overall financial wealth. In fact, the analysis on the concentration of the assets shows that the median investment is positioned in an interval between 15,000 and 21,000 euros, a figure far from the average investment.
In this regard, Riccardo MorassutSenior Research Analyst of the Study Office, he explained: “About six million Italians, half of the subscribers, invest contains contained, up to 21,000 euros, confirming the Democratic nature of investment funds and their accessibility even to those who have more limited availability “.
The numbers therefore confirm that that of the subscribers is a varied universe that contains more profiles, from small investors to the most important assets of assets, consolidating the versatility of the investment funds. “The data of the Banca d’Italia – he continued Morassut – They also tell us that the Italian funds are more present in the wallets of the mass-hall customers. Our study confirms that the average investment in Italian funds is 33,000 euros while the one in cross-border funds, typically signed by a private customers, stands at 59,000 euros. Only one identikit is not enough, our research outlines several profiles“, He underlined.
Younger, waiting for the generational passage
The average age of investors is 61 yearswith i Boomers representing the 41% of the total and hold almost half of the overall wealth (48%). However, Millennials and Gen Z they are gaining land: together they constitute today 15% of the subscribers and hold the 6% of the masses. Noteworthy is the data on the new investors: of 1.5 million savers who signed funds for the first time in 2024, 23% belong to younger generations.
Nonetheless, the comparison with the American subscribers still highlights a significant gap among the younger generations. Rota specified: “For the first time we included a one in the Observatory Comparison with the data of the investment Company Institute (ICI) US, the only other association that carries out a similar analysis. The average age of the US subscribers is 54 years old, but the gap is seen above all in the 35% participation rate for Gen Z and 49% for millennials, against our 7% and 13%. Evidently, although taking into account the system differences, young Americans begin to invest first and have greater availability “observed.
However, there are signs of progress on the young Italian investors front. The average investment by age groups has in fact risen to 14,000 euros of 13,000 euros for the Gen Zs and from 21,000 to 24,000 euros for millennials compared to the previous observatory. A wide distance of 62,000 euros invested on average by the boomers remains.
Morassut stressed: “The fact that older boomers and generations still hold about 70% of the overall stock makes fundamental for management companies and for the entire thematic sector such as the longevityand therefore the asset allocation dedicated to those who will live longer, and the generational passage of wealth“.
Finally, the demographic profile confirms that the genre Continue to thin: Women represent 47% of the subscriberswith an average investment equal to 50,000 eurosagainst the 55,000 euros of men. In 1996, investors were 34%.
