Belgians turn to investment as lockdown boosts savings

Belgians turn to investment as lockdown boosts savings

Since the start of the novel Coronavirus pandemic, many Belgians have turned to investment, using savings they would normally have spent on other pursuits, according to a report in Saturday’s issue of L’Echo.

“People were less able to consume and travel, and even to spend on home repairs, since the waiting times were too long,” Olivier Goerens, Private and Wealth Marketing Manager at Belfius Bank, explained.

“They accumulated additional savings of 30% in their accounts during the period, but the growth in investment is markedly higher than that of savings accounts,” Goerens added. “Investments really hit the roof from June last year.”

Investment did not necessarily mean huge sums. There was also a strong increase in fixed-sum investment plans. These enable the investor to deposit a fixed sum of at least 25 euros in an investment fund each month.

Another trend observed is that in the first months of the pandemic, many individual shares were bought after the severe stock exchange correction, following which investment in funds became more popular.

Over the year 2020, the equivalent of 11.4 billion euros was invested in funds, an all-time record, L’Echo reported.

The Brussels Times

Published at Sat, 19 Jun 2021 15:27:53 +0000