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COVID-19 pushes affluent Kenyans towards cryptocurrency – Stanchart poll

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 17 – A survey conducted by Stanchart now reveals that  43 percent of affluent, and high net worth (HNW) Kenyans have opted for cryptocurrency in order to diversify money management options.

Cryptocurrencies in Kenya are not legal tender and currently operate as unregulated digital money although they are accepted and used by the virtual community.

The study which was conducted among 1,598 respondents between June 30 and July 26 2021 noted that another 35 percent have moved towards short-term trading as more people explored new asset classes and strategies throughout the pandemic.

According to the wealth expectancy 2021 bridging the confidence gap report, 60 percent and 29 percent of those interviewed told the pollster they were optimistic and happy with the financial strategies they had tried for the first time since the pandemic.

“While overall happiness with portfolios is high, those who have made the most changes to their portfolio are even happier, 95 percent of those who have made 5+ changes are happy with their investment portfolio, reducing down to 81 percent of those who had made 0 changes saying the same,” the survey noted.

Commenting on the findings, Paul Njoki, Head of Wealth Management, Standard Chartered emphasized the need to build diversified investment portfolios

“Saving in cash will not cover longer lifespans and new priorities, so it is essential for the affluent to invest for the long term,” she said.

Meanwhile, another 59 percent of the respondents reported lower confidence about their finances occasioned by COVID-19 effects compared to 29 percent who reported increased confidence.

The report noted that the confidence gap’ was holding back many from meeting their goals as 96 percent of the respondents said they had reset their life goals and were unable to take necessary actions to achieve their new goals.

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“When asked about factors that are making it harder for people to pursue their new goals, the three most selected were ‘volatility in financial markets (38%), ‘fear of poor returns on investments (37%), and ‘insufficient information about specific investment opportunities (32%),” the survey added.

COVID-19, the survey, added had prompted Kenyans to shift their goals with 73pc affluent Kenyans now focused on health as compared to the wealth and home management which scored 66 and 68 percent respectively.

Notably, the survey noted that 45 percent of the respondents said they planned to retire before the age of 65 and 22 percent had set a new financial goal of retiring early.

“Seventeen percent of people do not currently save/invest for retirement. For those that do, ‘investment income’ (62%) and ‘cash savings’(38%) are the most common expected sources of income,” the survey added.

The survey was conducted among respondents across 12 markets including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE, and the UK.

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