Stockholding in the United Kingdom

This chapter provides empirical evidence on the portfolios of UK households.1 We give particular attention to holdings of stocks and shares and differentiate between direct holdings that can be self-traded and indirect holdings in unit trusts and mutual funds and in tax favoured personal equity plans (PEPs), and also holdings in private personal pension accounts. We argue that household portfolios in the United Kingdom share many features with those of other countries included in this analysis. Across households with different characteristics there are wide differences in ownership rates for stocks held directly and stocks held indirectly. But within the group of stockholders we find little evidence of systematic variations in the proportion of household wealth that is accounted for by stocks held either directly or in direct and indirect forms. Age, income and education are important factors in describing the level of financial wealth that households have, and the various assets that they hold.