The next school year lies ahead in Austria. Therefore, the Vienna Stock Exchange is reiterating a key demand: financial education is a basic skill and must be systematically incorporated into all levels of education. Many young people already find it difficult to keep their income and expenditure under control. When it comes to long-term wealth accumulation, the uncertainties are even greater, as studies such as the Austrian "Aktienbarometer" clearly show. According to the study on securities ownership by Peter Hajek on behalf of the Federation of Austrian Industries, Aktienforum and the Vienna Stock Exchange, 30% of Austrians – or 26% of those under 30 – own securities, which is significantly more than in the first survey in 2022 (25%). However, of the approximately 1.4 million people who are fundamentally interested in buying securities, the majority (68%) consider their knowledge of the securities market to be insufficient and therefore refrain from investing.
"Young people should leave school with a basic understanding of debt, interest rates and investment opportunities. This is basic education and not a nice-to-have. They need to be able to recognise where investment ends and speculation begins, and should be able to confidently answer three key financial questions: What are the costs, what are the benefits, and what risk am I taking? Education is the best protection for investors," says Christoph Boschan, CEO of Wiener Börse AG.
The fact that access to the capital market is strongly linked to the level of education underlines the need for systematic educational measures. While only 16 per cent of people with compulsory school education invest in securities, the proportion increases significantly with rising levels of education: among technical college graduates, it is already 25 per cent, and among high school graduates, 42 per cent. Finally, more than half (51%) of university graduates own securities. Those who do not invest their money for the long term miss out on the opportunity to get more out of their future.
Boschan emphasises: "In Austria, over 330 billion euros are parked in low-interest investments. In view of inflation, purchasing power is being destroyed with our eyes wide open. This illustrates the distorted risk perception among large sections of the population, where equities are mistakenly regarded as speculation. Instead of what they really are: the safest and most profitable form of investment in the long term and thus the most reliable protection against inflation."
The Vienna Stock Exchange has been actively committed to improving general financial education for many years. As part of the national financial education strategy of the Federal Ministry of Finance, it offers free teaching materials for teachers, school lectures, workshops and intensive cooperation with teacher training colleges. In addition, the Vienna Stock Exchange runs the “Wiener Börse Akademie” together with the WIFI Management Forum, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In its anniversary year, a total of around 130 courses will be held with around 2,000 participants, ranging from beginners to experienced investors. Since this year, the Vienna Stock Exchange has also been providing basic knowledge about the stock exchange and capital markets via its own TikTok channel.
