Beyond Tell Sid: Research from Aberdeen Investments shows how Asia built a new generation of investors – and played catch up with Britain
14 September 2026- After a later start, Asia is catching up with - and in some cases overtaking - the UK
- Progress has come through sustained reform, not a single campaign or tax break
- But stamp duty on UK shares is a significant outlier versus overseas markets
Asian countries that only recently began actively promoting retail investing are catching up quickly with the UK and, in some cases are overtaking, according to new research from Aberdeen Investments.
In a new report: ‘Beyond Tell Sid: How Asia built a new generation of investors’, Aberdeen finds that Japanese households now hold 9% of their wealth in equities and mutual funds outside pensions, compared with just 8% in the UK.
This is notable because the country only began actively encouraging retail investment in the early 2010s – almost three decades after the UK’s ‘Tell Sid’ Campaign’. And progress in Japan comes despite households still keeping 35% of wealth in cash, compared to 15% in the UK.
Singapore’s household exposure to equities and mutual funds is higher still at 11%, while South Korea is level with the UK and continuing to narrow the gap to other countries amid a retail investing boom in the country. Recent dramatic market falls shows that this is not without risk, either for investors or governments - with greater participation comes greater attention.
The findings come as debate intensifies over how to boost retail investment and strengthen capital markets in the UK. But nor are the learnings straightforward: India for example has grown one of the world's most dynamic retail investing markets despite equities and mutual funds accounting for only 5% of household wealth.
Xavier Meyer, CEO – Investments, at Aberdeen says: “Many Asian countries are grappling with the same challenge as the UK: ageing populations, increasing pressure on public finances, and the need for households to take greater responsibility for their long-term financial wellbeing.
“That’s not to say that these Asian nations have already solved the challenge. Recent market volatility in South Korea is a reminder that building an investing culture must go hand in hand with diversification, product suitability and market resilience.
“But having started the drive to build an investment culture later than the UK and other developed markets, Asia is catching up fast, and there’s some learnings we can take from their journey – and that includes from the bumps in the road, too.”
Love of property is global
While South Korean households still hold 65% of wealth in property (compared to 50% in the UK), the country has built one of the world's most retail-driven stock markets, with individual investors estimated to account for around 60-70% of annual trading activity in its stock market*.
This is part of a broader pattern seen across much of Asia. Property accounts for 60% of household wealth in China and more than half in India (51%). The habit of viewing housing as the cornerstone of household wealth is not uniquely British. If anything, it is one of the world's most persistent financial obsessions.
Bob Gilhooly, Senior Economist, Aberdeen Investments, says: “The UK is not alone in facing an imbalance in household wealth. It is mirrored across parts of Asia, where high savings rates and strong preferences for property have long dominated household wealth. What is striking is that countries which once had little culture of investing are now closing the gap and in some cases now exceeding the UK in terms of retail investment participation.
“This highlights an important point for the UK as well as for Asia. The heavy concentration of household wealth in property across parts of Asia, notably China and South Korea, closely mirrors the UK’s long standing imbalance and leaves families overly exposed to housing downturns.”
Figure 1. How people’s personal wealth is split across asset classes, by country
| Asia Countries | Housing | Pension Fund | Cash (Deposits & MMFs) | Debt Securities | Equities & Mutual Funds | Life Insurance & Annuities | Other (e.g. gold) |
| Japan | 37% | 16% | 35% | 1% | 9% | 0% | 2% |
| South Korea | 65% | 7% | 16% | 1% | 8% | 3% | 0% |
| India | 51% | 6% | 17% | 0% | 5% | 6% | 15% |
| Singapore | 43% | 18% | 19% | 0% | 11% | 9% | 0% |
| China | 60% | 2% | 25% | 0% | 5% | 7% | 2% |
| G7 Countries (ex Japan) | |||||||
| UK | 50% | 19% | 15% | 0% | 8% | 5% | 3% |
| USA | 26% | 17% | 10% | 3% | 33% | 1% | 9% |
| Germany | 57% | 6% | 16% | 1% | 9% | 6% | 5% |
| France | 52% | 12% | 13% | 0% | 13% | 1% | 9% |
| Italy | 46% | 9% | 14% | 2% | 19% | 0% | 10% |
| Canada | 43% | 15% | 11% | 1% | 22% | 0% | 8% |
Source: Based on Aberdeen analysis of data from individual countries’ financial accounts. Figures are the latest available data, released in 2025 for Singapore, 2024 for South Korea and 2023 for China, India and Japan. Some of these data points are accounted for slightly differently across countries, so we should be wary of looking at small differences and making strong conclusions. When comparing pension data, it is worth remembering that there are variations in state pension benefits.
Initiatives such as Japan’s expanded NISA programme, India’s national financial education strategy and Singapore’s efforts to strengthen its equity market, as well as mainland China’s reduction of stamp duty on share transactions, all offer lessons for policymakers seeking to broaden investment participation.
Peter Branner, Chief Investment Officer at Aberdeen Investments, said: “The lesson from Asia is that successful investing cultures are built gradually through a series of reforms that make investing more accessible, attractive and rewarding.
We should be clear that there are two ambitions here seen globally. One is to help more people build long-term financial resilience. The other is to create stronger capital markets that attract companies, capital and innovation.
The two often go hand in hand, but they are not identical. People should invest where they can achieve the best long-term outcomes for themselves. Equally, policymakers should be asking what makes the UK an attractive and competitive place to invest and do business. The most successful markets manage to deliver both.”
What Asia did differently
Across the region, different countries have taken different routes. This is covered at length in the report, but summarised here:
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 are as follows (published in detail in the report):
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
Ends
*Source: "Retail investors and herding behaviour in the Korean market", Applied Economics, June 2025, via, "Investing amid Korea’s economic transformation", GAM Investments, August 2025.
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