Chris Cummings
Chief Executive of the Investment Association
After years of momentum building behind the idea of getting more Britons investing, another major piece of the puzzle has arrived: the first industry-wide campaign designed to change how the nation thinks and talks about investing.
Over the next few years, Savvy the Squirrel will appear across billboards, bus stops, TV screens and on our high streets to help more people feel that investing might be relevant to them and their future. For millions of people, investing still feels like something other people do.
Lack of confidence a big barrier to investing
The scale of that challenge is significant. The FCA’s Financial Lives survey shows around seven million adults in the UK hold £10,000 or more in cash savings but no investments.1 Even among those with between £50,000 and £100,000 of investible assets, two-thirds are held in cash.1 Britain has become exceptionally good at building cash savings, but far less confident about putting money to work over the long term.
Of course, cash matters. Having a savings buffer is essential. But over long periods, holding too much money in cash comes with risks, too. If a saver had put £10,000 into a cash ISA a decade ago, inflation would mean it is worth around £8,400 in real terms today. Invested in a Global Equity Fund over the same period, it would be worth more than £19,700.
This is not about a lack of awareness or people being disengaged from their finances. Research for the Invest for the Future campaign found 10 million savers without investments want to learn more.2
But taking the next step can feel daunting. People worry about losing money. They feel they don’t know enough to get started. And many still feel that investing is something for people with more money, more expertise or more confidence than they themselves have.
the more people hear conversations about investing – in work, around the kitchen table, in everyday settings – the more they begin to think about it
Cultural shift needed to encourage investing
Part of the challenge is cultural, too. In Britain, we rarely talk openly about investing. Yet research for the campaign found over a third of savers would feel more likely to invest after talking to someone they know.2
This is what the campaign is trying to change. Not by telling people what to invest in, but by making conversations about investing feel more normal, visible and accessible. Because the more people hear conversations about investing – in work, around the kitchen table, in everyday settings – the more they begin to think about it. And the more familiar the idea becomes, the more people may begin to feel that perhaps investing is something for them too.
[1] FCA. (2025). Financial Lives 2024 survey. https://tinyurl.com/4ava6x3s.
[2] The Investment Association. (2026). Britain encouraged to ‘Take The Next Step’ as a new national investing drive launches. https://tinyurl.com/4ava6x3s.
