This is how Spanish savers invest and manage their money

Conservative, long-term and loyal to deposits and bank accounts as tools to channel your savings. This is, broadly speaking, the majority profile of Spanish savers today. This is at least reflected in the IX Savings Barometera study prepared based on some 1,200 surveys by the Inverco Observatory in collaboration with Front Query, which analyzes the behavior of Spanish savers, their motivations, the financial products they use and their investment horizons.

According to this report, 57% of Spanish savers maintain a conservative investment profilewith a preference for long-term investments – 51% for more than 3 years and 33% with a longer horizon of more than five – and the safest products: 87% of Spaniards channel their savings through deposits or paid bank accountsahead of pension plans (50%) and investment funds (40%). Variable income (such as stocks), for its part, has grown seven points in the last two years, up to 37%.

Ángel Martínez-Aldamapresident of the Inverco Observatory, highlighted these figures that “there is an interesting evolution in the behavior of savers in Spain, there is already a third who think in the longer term when setting a savings horizon.” Regarding bank accounts, Marta Gonzalezmember of the Observatory, has highlighted that “This product allows immediate liquidity, having the money available now for any need, unlike others, such as funds, which can take one or two days to recover.

On the other hand, the report details that The main reason to save in Spain continues to be prepared to be able to face unforeseen events (36%)although it drops four points compared to 2023. It is followed by growing money without a specific purpose (31%) and saving for retirement (23%), which gains three points and regains prominence. Besides, security and trust continue to be the most valued factors by Spaniards when it comes to investing, even ahead of profitability, which surpasses transparency.

The study also refers to how different generations manage their resources and what their priorities are. In this way, the document indicates that the savers of the Generation Z (36%) – those born approximately between 1997 and 2012 – and those of the Generation Y (39%) -those born between the early 80s and mid-90s- They prioritize increasing capital, without a specific purpose, compared to the rest of generations who save, mainly, to cover unforeseen events.

Almost half of the Silent Generation (47%) invest in equities, while Generation Z stands out for its greater investment through funds (49%)

Those known as Baby Boomers -those born between 1946 and 1964-, who in the coming years will put an end to their working lives en masse, has been the only generation that has stood out as The second reason for saving is retirement (33%).

Regarding their product portfolio, all of them unquestionably opt for deposits and paid accounts as their first option, with percentages that range between 84% and 92%. Of course, the document highlights that 65% of savers in the Generation -born between 1965 and 1981– and 62% of Baby Boomers It has contracted pension plans, consolidating its more pension profile. On the other hand, almost half of the Silent Generation (47%) – those born between 1928 and 1945 – invest directly in equities, while Generation Z stands out for its greater investment in funds (49%) compared to the rest of the generations.

Regarding the most valued factors when making an investment decision, Generation Y prioritizes profitability compared to Generation Z and X, who give greater importance to security and trustin this order. The Silent Generation For its part, it places professional management as the main decision factor, ahead of trust.

Hiring products, better in the office

Regarding the channel that Spanish savers use to find out about financial products, 56% go to their office or bank advisor-which is up to 12 points more than in 2021- while 23% use online platforms and websites. When contracting any financial product, the bank branch (65%) remains the main channelwhile web contracting grows from 16% to 21%.

In this aspectthe Silent Generation It is the one that shows the greatest preference when obtaining information through a bank branch (72%)a percentage that falls below half in the case of Generation Y and Z. The most likely to obtain information online (30%) and request information via automated managers (10%) is Generation Z.