Over a third of people cannot identify an investment fund

Demographic differences prevalent

More than a third (36%) of people said they do not know what an investment fund is as research indicated that financial illiteracy remains high.

According to data from a survey of 2000 people conducted by Opinium for Hargreaves Lansdown in April 2025, fewer than two in five people (37%) could correctly identify what an investment fund was when provided with five alternative descriptions, while 36% said they did not know.  Two thirds of young investors spend less than a day contemplating investment decisions Just over one in ten (11%) said it was a word to describe the money held in shares, while 9% defined it as a group of shares sold in bulk. Meanwhile, one in 20 (5%) said it was a type of savings account and 2% said it was a...