Uncertainty in financial markets will continue in 2024 – what should an investor do?

However, positive trends can also be seen in Latvia. In 2023, despite the uncertainty of the external situation, investor activity in Latvia continued to grow steadily. The number of “Swedbank” clients-individuals who invest in some of the securities has doubled in the last 3 years. What is important – the number of new investors is growing in different demographic segments. Why is this important? Because investments are one of the foundations that form both people’s personal and society’s overall long-term well-being and stabilize the overall financial situation. In other words, investing is an important part of full financial health in any life cycle.

There are similarities in the choices of investors in all Baltic countries. The most popular in 2023 in all countries were investment funds (including various Robur funds), bonds and Baltic shares.

The success story of funds (such as Robur funds) has developed rapidly since 2020 – in 3 years, the number of clients who invest in them has almost quadrupled. This is also explained by the fact that the so-called “ready-made funds” are also suitable for beginner investors. You can invest in them starting from one euro, accessing many markets, regions and companies, including those where buying a single share would be incomparably more expensive. Also from the risk point of view, they are less “stressful” for new investors and require in-depth knowledge.

The Baltic market is more understandable for the local investor, the companies are mostly known, and obtaining information about the specific company and the market in general is easier. The start of the IPO or stock listing of local companies always arouses great interest among clients – the number of new investors tends to increase hundreds of times at those times.