UK investors are increasingly dropping crypto and putting money into gold and other 'safer' alternative assets to offset the risk of inflation, according to The Royal Mint.
Data showed 30% of UK investors currently hold crypto investments but this is set to drop to 24% by 2024 as they question whether decentralised currencies are a good store of wealth in the long term, commented the coin maker.
Conversely, the number of portfolios holding gold is expected to rise to 21% in 2024, up from 19% currently and reflecting an uptick in safe-haven demand.
The Royal Mint’s data indicated a 26% uplift year-on-year in the volume of gold investments during 2022.
Additionally, in a new poll commissioned by The Royal Mint, over half (58%) of those surveyed currently hold at least one alternative investment in their portfolio.
Of these, the intention is to increase their monthly alternative investments by 11% on average, rising to 13% among Gen-Z (born 1996-2010) investors, according to the poll.
Around 36% of those who haven’t previously invested in the asset class said they would consider investing in alternative assets in the future.
Andrew Dickey, The Royal Mint’s director of precious metals, added: “It is clear from the data that investors are becoming more pragmatic about their portfolios and turning towards what are traditionally viewed as ‘alternative investments’ in order to boost their portfolio during this period.
“At The Royal Mint, we’ve seen an uplift in gold and silver investments in the first half of the year as investors turn to alternative investments as a means to diversify their portfolio, beat inflation, and generate wealth in the long-term.”