France had more than 1.5 million stock market investors in 2022
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Autorité des Marchés (MF) has said that in 2022 there were over 1.5 million active investors in the France stock markets in 2022. The numbers released by the financial market regulator indicate a 5.5% drop from 2021.
AMF says France stock market investors surpassed 1.5 million
The figure released by the AMF on Monday was 5.5% lower than the figure reported during the previous year when the regulator revealed around 1.6 million stock market investors. However, in 2020, the number of active investors was significantly lower at 1.3 million.
The chair of the AMF, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, commented on the development, saying that a large number of French investors wanted to participate in the stock market. The executive noted that this number was a positive outlook for the savings of these investors and the financing of the economy.
“In the medium and long term, investing in shares remains the most attractive investment for building up savings and financing one’s lifelong projects,” Barbat-Layani noted. The executive also said that the AMF would improve its measures to support retail investors, including the young and novice ones. The regulator recommended that investors have a long-term perspective of the market’s performance.
The AMF releases official data on stock market investors every quarter. The data was released alongside a survey that the regulator conducted. The survey showed a decline in sentiment among new investors joining the France equities market in 2022. The sentiment was significantly lower compared to 2021.
New investors flock to the France stock market
The AMF data also showed an influx of new investors in the market. Around 195,000 new investors joined the market in 2022. This number was according to the number of new accounts or accounts that had remained inactive since January 2018. The number of new accounts between 2019 and 2022 was 1.3 million.
Nevertheless, there was a downtrend in activities in the stock markets in 2022. The number of transactions within the European Union equities market plunged by 24% to 42.2 million during the year. However, it was higher than the four-year average of 24 million transactions.
The AMF also noted the high demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the past three years, with a 14% increase in 2022. Nevertheless, retail traders remained more active in equities.
The AMF also revealed its action plan for 2023, saying it will focus on promoting retail investments. The AMF has emerged as one of the friendly regulators in the cryptocurrency market, with some top exchanges such as Binance, eToro, and Crypto.com expanding their operations to the French market.
