AML x The Nursery

Now in its seventh year, the Investor Index – conducted with The Nursery – expands beyond the UK for the first time, tracking confidence and behaviour across the UK, Germany and Italy, with new research into intenders, retirement planning, and, for the first time, UK financial advisers.

 

The past twelve months have given investors every reason to retreat. Trade wars, geopolitical conflict and market volatility have defined the year. Yet confidence hasn’t buckled, but climbed to its highest point since the Index began. Conviction, it turns out, is not a function of stability. Across the UK, Germany and Italy, a clearer picture is emerging of investors who have learned to tune out the noise and hold their nerve – and of the gaps in access, guidance and trust that still decide who gets to benefit.

Confidence reaches a record high

The 2026 Investor Index has hit 115 – its highest point since inception. Against a turbulent backdrop, the response from UK investors has been to lean in, not pull back. The rise is led by the over-35s, with the 35–44 cohort posting the sharpest gain of 26 points year-on-year. UK confidence (115) nearly matches Germany (116), but both stand in contrast to Italy, where the index registers 75, shaped by structural headwinds and deeper geopolitical anxiety. Across all three markets, one conviction holds firm: majorities agree that long-term investing is more important than ever. 

Same idea, different story

Half of UK investors increased what they put to work over the past year. But how they invest tells a more individual story: UK investors favour stocks and shares; Germans prioritise ETFs and commodities; Italians lean on bonds. ESG has dipped slightly in the UK (44% to 42%), though Italian investors – particularly women – remain the most engaged across all three markets. For providers, the signal is consistent: investors are making deliberate, structural choices. Durability and long-term fit are preferable to novelty.

AI powered investors

Nearly half of UK investors (49%) have now used a tool like ChatGPT or Gemini for financial guidance – up 16 percentage points in a single year, across every age group. Finfluencers are followed but not trusted; formal sources are winning ground. IFAs lead in the UK, while Germany’s investors largely go it alone and Italians split trust between advisers and banks. The question for financial services is no longer whether clients are using AI, but how to be credible in that space before it shapes expectations the industry can no longer meet.

49% of UK investors now use AI tools for financial guidance – up 16 points in a year.

Retirement: lovely once you’re in 84% of UK investors near or in retirement are confident their savings will be sufficient – well ahead of Germany (73%) and Italy (65%). Pre-retirees consistently imagine a more complex picture than retirees report experiencing. The opportunity for the industry is to get investors not just to retirement, but through it. 

The intender is ready – they just need a way in

42% of intenders have now used AI for financial guidance (up from 17% in 2025). They are informed and engaged – but fear of loss (41%) and perceived complexity (37%) keep them on the sidelines. Lower-risk options and clearer information are what they say would get them over the line. The barrier is no longer ignorance. It’s friction.

The intender is not waiting to be convinced of investing’s value. 

They’re waiting for someone to make it feel possible.

New this year: Adviser in Focus

For the first time, the Investor Index surveys the other side of the conversation: 301 UK financial advisers. The picture is of a profession adapting to more – more clients, more complexity, more regulation – yet over nine in ten advisers are positive about the future of their profession. AI is already embedded across the industry, and demand for advice is not contracting; it is diversifying.

Ready for tomorrow

Across three markets and both sides of the advice relationship, one red thread holds. Confidence among investors has never been higher – but access, simplicity and trust still  determine who acts on it. The investors are leaning in. The intenders are ready, held back only by friction. And the advisers are adapting to a market asking more of them than ever. For the brands and providers paying attention, the opportunity in 2026 is not to convince people of the value of investing. It is to make it feel possible – and to be credible when they look for a way in.

Want to know what the 2026 Investor Index means for your brand or business? 

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About the research

Conducted April–May 2026. Surveys of 1,117 UK investors, 505 German investors, 514 Italian investors, 325 UK intenders, and 301 UK financial advisers. Investors held £10,000+ invested; intenders had £10,000+ in savings (or £2,000+ with £40,000+ income) and planned to invest within two years.