Birmingham among the UK's least financially-savvy cities

When thinking of financial literacy in the UK, people’s minds typically jump to London. So, this is a closer look at just how financially-savvy different cities across the country are. Using Google’s Keyword Planner data, the top ten cities have been broken down by search volume.

Bristol ranks at number 1, registering a total score of 92.04 (out of 100) for savings and investment searches. This includes registering the most searches for 8 out of the 10 key categories: stocks, shares, bonds, pensions, funds, TSAs and ISAs, savings options, and property.

Findings suggest Bristolians are eager to make the most of their money, which is more important than ever in light of the pandemic. Research suggests those from higher-income households have seen their savings increase, while those from lower-income households, including those furloughed, unemployed or retired have seen their savings decrease.

For each of these groups, savings and investments are now crucial, whether to create new income streams or to get the largest return on their limited savings.

Bristol’s penchant for saving and investment search queries isn’t too surprising, given the city was found to have the highest density of online traders in the UK – with 24 in every 1,000 Bristolians an active trader. It’s clear residents of the city are regularly looking to make their money work for them.

Edinburgh’s residents are also financially-focused, finishing second overall for their volume of savings and investments searches – including topping the table for ‘commodities’ searches and posting the second-highest number of searches for ‘stocks’, ‘bonds’, ‘pensions’, ‘funds’, ‘TSAs and ISAs’ and ‘savings options’ terms.

Interestingly however, Edinburgh ranked last for Google searches around ‘property’ investments. This is surprising given the city regularly features in regional property investment tables and boasts impressive 5-year price growth figures for its properties.

Most shocking though, is London’s 9^th place finish. The city is regularly considered the ‘financial capital of the world’, however, its residents fall behind most of their compatriots when it comes to researching savings and investments. This includes posting the lowest normalised score for ‘cryptocurrency’, ‘pensions’ and ‘savings options’ searches.

This low search volume may be a result of Londoners’ low levels of disposable income. A recent study suggests London’s high cost of living sees its residents take home the lowest income in the UK, that is after tax and basic living costs are taken into account. This is despite Londoners earning the highest salaries.

According to the same study, Londoners are left with just £260.97 each month, compared with Bristolians’ £1,122.57. Of course, there are a huge number of factors at play here, but the data suggests a correlation between this high disposable income & Bristolians actively learning more about the savings and investment options available to them.

Liverpool saw the lowest total search volume for terms related to savings and investments, including the lowest volume for specific categories including ‘stocks’, ‘shares’, ‘funds’ and ‘commodities’.

Annie Charalambous, Content Manager at ETX Capital, commented on the findings: “It’s fascinating to see the differences in how UK cities research their financial investments. London is often considered a financial hotspot and we expect Londoners to be on top of their finances – however search interest sees Londoners towards the bottom of the table.

“While we may expect different savings and investment vehicles to peak in popularity across the country, Bristolians seem to be the most avid researchers when it comes to almost all investment types. Overall, it’s promising to see so many people across the country taking the time to research their savings and investments.

“Knowledge is key in any financial decision, to make sure it’s right for you and provides the greatest return based on your risk acceptance.”