A record number of new savers and investors at the start of the year – OP Pohjola surpasses one million investor customers
Investing has seen a record-breaking start to the year, at least when looking at the number of new investors. From January to February, OP Pohjola gained a record-high 47,000 new agreements for systematic fund investing, which is 22% more than in the similar time period the year before.
At the start of the year, OP Pohjola passed the milestone of a million customers who own asset and wealth management products. These products are funds, shares and unit-linked insurance policies. OP Pohjola's market share of new fund unitholders in Finland was 53% in January.
"A million investors is not simply a milestone for us, but an indication of a larger change: investment is a part of the daily lives of more and more people in Finland. We are happy that the threshold for starting has lowered, and an increasingly large number of people are taking care of their future finances on a long-term basis," says Hanna Porkka, Head of Wealth Management for OP Pohjola.
Since the start of the year, customers of OP Pohjola have been able to use their OP bonuses for funds. The first fund subscriptions with OP bonuses were made in February, and the investment itself earns more bonuses.
"The preliminary data already shows us that a significant proportion of fund investors using bonuses, around 20%, are investing for the first time at OP Pohjola. The minimum investment amount is 5 euros, so the threshold for trying and gradually learning is low. OP bonuses are paid monthly, which supports monthly investment, and your investment will automatically form a time diversification," says Porkka.
People in Finland are investors
According to Statistics Finland, over 2 million people in Finland owned equities or funds at the end of 2024. This is just under 37% of people in Finland. For example, the corresponding figure for Sweden is around 46%*, but in Germany or the UK, the figure is significantly lower.
"Even though we have some catching up to do when talking about our western neighbour, it's nice to notice that people in Finland are above average when compared with other European investors," says Porkka.
The Nordic countries are clearly the most active group of investors in Europe.
"Ownership has rapidly become more common in Finland during the past ten years: a little over ten years ago, only roughly a quarter of the population were investors. We at OP Pohjola can also see this development clearly in the increasing number of new investors and how more and more people start investing with a small sum and systematically," says Porkka.
*Statistikmyndigheten SCB
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