Beyond Tell Sid: Lessons from Aberdeen's research into Asia's investing revolution

New Aberdeen research examines how Asian markets have built strong investing cultures and encouraged greater participation in long-term investing.

In this video, Robert Gilhooly, Senior Emerging Markets Economist, discusses the key findings from Aberdeen's Beyond Tell Sid: How Asia built a new generation of investors research and what they could mean for the UK.

 

Download the full report here

What has Asia done differently?

There is no single blueprint for building an investing culture. Across Asia, countries have adopted different strategies to encourage participation.

Japan: Abenomics reforms boosted retail investing through stronger corporate governance, better shareholder returns, lower investment minimums and an expanded tax-free NISA scheme.

South Korea: Tackled the “Korea discount” with governance reforms, stronger shareholder rights, tax incentives for dividends and lower transaction taxes on shares.

India: Combined financial education with national campaigns encouraging households to diversify beyond property and gold, led by the successful "Mutual Funds Sahi Hai" initiative.

Singapore: Improved market participation through exchange reforms, government-backed research, dual-listing initiatives and stronger company-investor engagement.

Hong Kong: Built deep, liquid and globally connected capital markets through strong infrastructure and programmes linking domestic and international investors.

China: Cut stamp duty on share transactions, introduced tax-advantaged pensions and strengthened investor protections to boost participation, confidence and market liquidity.

Aberdeen’s six lessons for the UK 

1. Scrap stamp duty on UK shares
2. Fix the ‘plumbing’ of financial markets and keep fixing it
3. Strengthen shareholder rights for retail investors
4. Take a long-term approach to financial literacy
5. Stop overcomplicating investing
6. Keep talking about the benefits and risks of long-term investing 

The UK has already begun important work. Maintaining momentum will be essential if it is to help more households build financial resilience while developing stronger, more competitive capital markets.