A survey of private investors has revealed that shareholders North of the border think they are more wised up about financial opportunities than their English counterparts. According to the research, carried out this February by leading Internet share dealing website www.hoodlessbrennan.com, Scots are also more likely to adopt high-risk strategies, while English investors are drawn to long-term investment.
13% of the English investors questioned described themselves as loyal or long-term investors, preferring to invest in reliable well-known companies, yet only 4% of Scots were shown to be attracted to this type of investment.
The survey also found that Scottish investors consider themselves to be more knowledgeable than their English counterparts. Of the people questioned 15% of Scots described themselves as “knowledgeable” investors while only 9% of the English people surveyed said the same.
The research suggests that Scots believe they have superior financial know-how as more stated they made their living purely from trading stocks and shares. 7% of the Scottish investors questioned were making their living from share trading alone, while only 2% of English investors claimed the same achievement.
The 38-year-old, who lives in a plush suburb of Glasgow, has certainly had his dealing ups and downs. “I was successful until the internet crash, which almost took me out. “Now I’m trading about once a month but will be doing more.”
He keeps up to date with breaking stockmarket news through a range of Internet sites, including www.hoodlessbrennan.com.
“I keep watching companies and tracking them in my fantasy portfolio. “I also exchange tips with friends and family who share deal as well.”
Mr Gemmell opened his Hoodless Brennan online share dealing account a year ago after reading about the stockbroker on a financial website. He says he’s very happy with the service he’s received, adding: “It’s the online dealing I was after with them.”
Hoodless Brennan conducted the survey to find out more about the investment habits of its customers. The company were interested to discover that despite numerous differences, English and Scottish investors felt the same about the purpose of online trading facilities. Investors on both sides of the border agreed that a share dealing website’s primary function is to trade shares, not to offer extensive and costly research facilities ultimately paid for by the investor through increased commission charges.
Of the investors surveyed both North and South of the border, 66% stated it is much more important to them that their online broker has low charges than extensive research facilities. Only 28% of the investors surveyed used online share dealing web sites and tip sheet emails to gather information on shares. The results show that many online investors prefer to use their own research methods rather than pay brokers higher commission for extra research and information services they may not use.
Hoodless Brennan also asked investors to rate their costs and were delighted with the result. 79% classed their costs as “Excellent” and 78% also described the company as the “Lowest cost online dealing in the UK”.
Since April 2002 Hoodless Brennan has charged a flat rate commission of £7 per trade with no AMC (Annual Management Charge) and no hidden costs. Hoodless Brennan has been able to keep its costs extremely low by sticking to its remit of providing a no-frills execution-only service. It offers online users free research facilities and access to its in-house company reports without charging extra for these benefits.
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