WisdomTree survey: UK investors continue to shun ETPs

Wrapper remains in spotlight across US and Europe

Just 22% of UK retail investors use the exchange-traded wrapper, according to a survey commissioned by US ETF shop, WisdomTree, and carried out by Opinium, while exchange-traded product (ETP) assets across Europe have continued to grow at pace, climbing to $1.6trn in 2021.

According to the report, UK investors opt for stocks and shares investments (47%) which are, according to WisdomTree, "often higher risk" than investment funds, while 33% invest in open-ended funds and 32% allocate to investment trusts. As many as 34% of UK investors that shun the wrapper revealed they did so because they did not understand them, while 19% responded they did not know they existed. "Despite the large growth in demand for ETFs and ETPs by professional investors, uptake has been slower in the retail market, and particularly in the UK when compared with other European cou...