Around two-thirds (64%) of millennials and Generation Z who have owned cryptocurrency or meme stocks have already sold some or all of them, a survey has found.
Meme stocks often experience rapid growth within a short period and attract a lot of social media attention.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently warned that cryptoassets, which exist electronically, are largely unregulated and if people invest in these types of products, they should be prepared to lose all their money.
The survey, carried out for the Royal Mint also found that over two-thirds (68%) of young investors are considering investing in precious metals following their experience with cryptocurrencies and meme stocks.
Top motivations to do so include precious metals’ history of consistent growth (24%) and reputation for holding their value over time (37%).
This research from the Royal Mint suggests that young investors are falling out of love with new and volatile assets
Nearly a third (32%) of young investors said they were drawn to the high risk, high reward nature of cryptocurrencies and meme stocks.
But over half (53%) of those surveyed felt their investment was unsuccessful, did not gain as much as they had hoped or had lost money.
Iona Bain, founder of the Young Money blog said: “This research from the Royal Mint suggests that young investors are falling out of love with new and volatile assets, instead turning to more tried-and-tested investments to bring some equilibrium and stability to their portfolios.”
Figures from the Royal Mint show 21% of new gold-buying customers over the past 12 months were aged under 35.
Andrew Dickey, director of precious metals at the Royal Mint, said: “The rise of meme stocks in the late half of 2020 and early 2021 has really opened up the idea of investing to a new, younger group of people.
“It’s great to see a new financially savvy generation is emerging, realising the benefit of a diverse portfolio.”
The Censuswide survey on behalf of the Royal Mint included more than 1,100 millennials aged 24 to 42 and people from Generation Z aged 16 to 23.
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