No. 1036 - Population ageing and portfolio choices in the main EU countries

Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional papers)
by Raffaela Giordano, Luigi Infante, Andrea Neri, Giada Andrea Prete and Matteo Spuri
July 2026
Vai alla versione italiana Site Search

This study examines the role of population ageing in household portfolio choices across the major countries of the European Union, with the aim of assessing whether cross-country differences are also driven by the age structure of the population.

Across all countries considered, participation in risky asset markets is highest among households in the middle stages of their life cycle and declines in older age groups. Italian households exhibit lower participation in risky financial markets compared with their counterparts in other countries, for reasons that cannot be attributed to demographic composition. However, when non-financial business wealth is taken into account, this gap disappears. This finding points to differences in wealth allocation rather than to a lower willingness to bear risk among Italian households.

Full text

  1. 21 July 2026
    No. 1036 - Population ageing and portfolio choices in the main EU countries
    PDF 3 MB

Sezione di approfondimento