Almost half (48%) of people who don’t currently invest said they would be more likely to if they receive help to do so, interactive investor has found.

In a survey of 2,000 UK adults, the firm found that over three quarters (78%) of UK adults don’t invest, rising to 84% of women compared to 72% of men.

Of the 44% who said they had considered investing but decided against it, there were a variety of reasons.

The leading reason for not investing was a lack of general knowledge and understanding (22%), with concerns about losing money (20%) and fear of market volatility (12%) also being listed.

Furthermore, 12% said that they had a lack of confidence in their ability to pick the right investments.

In terms of age groups, young adults appeared to be the most willing to invest, with over half (56%) stating that they considered investing but decided against it because of their reservations.

This compared to 45% of those aged 35-54 and 34% of people aged 55 and over.

Senior personal finance analyst at interactive investor, Myron Jobson, said: "It is clear from our research that there is appetite among Britons to invest, but many are crying out for a helping hand to break through the complexity and intimidation to enable them to take the first step."

interactive investor found that almost half (48%) of respondents who don’t invest said they would be more likely to do so if, as part of their investment product, they could get help with building and managing a portfolio of investment to match their financial goals and risk appetite.

A significant portion of respondents also said that a managed portfolio investment service could help investors overcome common investment pitfalls, such as over-emotional decision making (48%), not reviewing investments enough (44%), reviewing investments too much (39%) and not diversifying enough (41%).

Jobson added: "Some people prefer to call their own shots when it comes to investing and many of our customers do so successfully. But not everybody has the time, expertise or inclination to manage their own money."

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