DNB: The value of household investments has risen sharply in recent years

The value of Dutch household investments has risen sharply in recent years. According to De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), households acquired 185 billion euros of securities. This is 58 billion euros more than at the end of 2018. The increase is mainly due to higher exchange rates. In addition, the number of investors and net investment increased.

The investments that DNB refers to in its analysis include bonds, listed stocks, and units in mutual funds. According to the data, the Dutch have bought additional investments of 4.1 billion euros. According to the Central Bank, the fact that people are increasingly interested in investing is also due to the increased accessibility. Households are also looking for other forms of return now that interest rates on savings are so low.

According to the Dutch Financial Markets Authority, the number of investing households in 2020 and 2021 increased by 11 and 12 percent, respectively, to 1.9 million. Many Dutch people opt for relatively large investments in Dutch funds. At the end of 2021, 28.9 billion of the money invested in stocks, or about 63.1 billion euros, was in Dutch funds.

Dutch companies

Investments in the UK have grown recently. But that was partly due to the relocation of the Dutch companies Unilever and Shell to the UK. Shell is currently the most important stake in Dutch households with an investment value of €4.5 billion.

DNB also notes that more and more investments are being made in technology companies. In 2018, this was still 15 percent of the contribution. That was 32 percent at the end of last year. This is partly due to the strong performance of funds such as chip machine maker ASML and chip supplier ASMI, as well as US technology group Apple and car maker Tesla on exchanges in recent years.