Designing Targeted Support Final Report - Flipbook - Page 8
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Experimental Design
Phase 1: Survey of Investing Attitudes and Attitudinal Traits
The first phase of the project was a survey of 1,500 UK adults recruited via the Prolific research platform. The
purpose of the Phase 1 survey was twofold: to identify which attitudinal characteristics are most strongly
associated with investing attitudes, and to measure whether individuals would be comfortable answering
questions on attitudinal characteristics in a Targeted Support journey. The sample was chosen to include
those with a minimum income of £20k and be broadly representative of the UK adult population, including
both individuals who do and do not hold investments.
Participants answered questions on eight attitudinal characteristics, each measured on a 0–10 scale: risk
tolerance, loss aversion, long-term focus, expected returns from stocks versus cash, social influence, UK
versus global investment preference, financial confidence and market trust. They were also asked about their
real-world investment holdings and their comfort in answering each of the attitudinal questions.
Regression analysis of the Phase 1 data revealed that attitudinal characteristics are considerably more
powerful than demographics alone in explaining who invests. Three attitudinal
characteristics emerged as particularly important:
1. risk tolerance (higher tolerance strongly associated with investing),
2. UK versus global investment preference (a stronger preference for UKonly investment strongly associated with not investing), and
3. beliefs about stock returns relative to cash (higher expected returns
strongly associated with investing).
The economic magnitudes were substantial: for example, a one-point increase in
preference for keeping money in the UK was associated with the same decrease in probability of
investing as a £10,000 reduction in income. Another example is that a two-point increase in risk tolerance
on the 0–10 scale was associated with the same increase in the probability of investing as a £10,000–
£15,000 increase in annual income.
April 2026
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