Rathbone Investment Management surveyed over 1,500 UK investors on their views of crypto-currencies.

According to new research, 37 per cent of under 35-year old UK investors were planning to invest in crypto-currencies in the future compared with just four per cent of those aged 45 or more. 

Rathbone Investment Management surveyed more than 1,500 UK investors. The sample was split between those with savings of between £1,000 ($1,280) - £100,000, and those with over £100,000 in savings or investable assets.

Some 31 per cent of the under 35s surveyed had invested in crypto-currencies previously and planned to do so again in the future. Almost a third (30 per cent) of investors with investable assets of over £100,000 said they have invested in crypto-currencies, and of those just over half (51 per cent) plan to invest in crypto-currencies in the future. 

In addition, the research found that men were more likely to be attracted to crypto-currencies than women. Almost a fifth (19 per cent) of men surveyed by Rathbones had invested in crypto-currencies in the past, and 15 per cent planned to invest in the future. In comparison just 14 per cent of women had previously invested in crypto, and only 10 per cent planned to do so in the future.

Of the 1,500 investors surveyed by Rathbones, just three per cent said that they currently had their wealth invested in crypto-currencies. In comparison 17 per cent of investors had money in the stock market, 23 per cent in a stocks and shares ISA, and almost half (48 per cent) in a cash ISA.

Enthusiasm for such tech-driven ventures is often more associated with the young. Rathbones also suggested the younger generation have a shorter-term time-horizon and more easily caught up in certain fads and fashions.

“Lucrative returns made by the early adopters of bitcoin and other crypto-currencies have been widely publicised,” said Robert Szechenyi, investment director at Rathbones. “These early investors have been followed by others looking to make similar gains. Younger investors who perhaps have shorter investment goals have been more susceptible to the bitcoin craze, whilst older generations with their mind on retirement savings have mostly stayed clear of what is a high-risk asset class.”

Szechenyi added: “Buying crypto-currencies can come back to bite you. The bursting of the Bitcoin bubble this year is a clear reminder of just how volatile these investments can be. While it can be interesting to dabble in alternative asset classes such as crypto-currencies, and the rewards can be there if you are lucky with timing, we would not advise them to be a core part of an investment portfolio, which should be diversified in order to spread risk. The due diligence given to crypto-currencies is nowhere near as rigorous as it is to more traditional asset classes such as equities and the risk is correspondingly much greater. The majority of investors will have a long-term goal in mind - whether that be saving for a first-time home, retirement or education - and that, along with a person’s appetite for risk, should always be taken into account when making investment decisions. If in doubt, talk to a financial expert.”