Brits Clinging Onto Shares

Nearly a million Brits retain their shares purely because of emotional reasons, according to research from AXA.

Of nine million people who own shares in a listed company, some 900,000 keep hold of their investments because they hold sentimental value having been passed over by a friend or relative.

Meanwhile, one in eight keeps their current shares because they enjoy the perks and benefits involved in their association with a particular company.

More than two and a half million shareholders keep hold of the same stock for over three years – with a lack of planning or clarity on when to sell contributing to this statistic.

AXA's Colin Nelson said: "While it is encouraging that investors are holding on to shares as part of their investments, it is worrying how many people are investing their savings in the stock market without seeming to have a clear, rational strategy for managing their money.

"Investors should be setting clear goals for what they want their investments to achieve. Shares can play an important role but investors should be clear about what that role is - is it income, is it capital growth or a mixture of the two."