Savers in Britain are sitting on some £430 billion worth of uninvested cash, according to research from Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC).
This places the roughly 13 million adults at risk of missing out on higher returns from putting their cash to work, the bank said in a report.
“If this UK investment gap can be narrowed, we will address two major untapped opportunities,” Barclays private bank and wealth management boss Sasha Wiggins commented.
“One for the 13 million potential investors who could be earning better returns on their cash savings over the long term, and the other for UK capital markets, which could see a boost if more savers were to invest.”
Barclays noted the figures reflected those holding over six months' worth of income in cash savings.
A fifth of some 2,000 people surveyed felt they had insufficient knowledge to invest the funds though, the bank warned.
Wiggins called for regulatory reforms to encourage savers into investing, including removing red tape around documents and better “entry-level” options.