VTB predicts an increase in individual accounts on the Moscow Exchange from 30 to 40 million by 2026

VTB expects that by the end of 2023 the number of Russians with brokerage accounts on the Moscow Exchange will exceed 30 million. By the end of November, their was 29.2 million. Head of the corporate and investment business unit of VTB Vitaly Sergeychuk at the forum “Russia Calling!” reported that the bank forecasts that by 2026 the number will exceed 40 million accounts.

Thus, by the end of the year, 25% of the adult population of Russia will have brokerage accounts, and by 2026 – 34%. VTB analyzed the experience of developed and developing countries and believes that “the Russian stock market is still far from saturation.” “We predict an increase in the share of investment products in the structure of savings of Russians from 12% at the end of 2022 to 16% in 2026. According to our estimates, in 2024–2026, the average growth in the volume of Russian assets in the portfolios of individuals will exceed 20% per year,”— said Mr. Sergeychuk.

Shares will remain the most popular investment instrument; their share in the structure of investments of individuals will exceed 50% by the end of 2023, VTB predicts. Collective investments of individuals in exchange-traded funds are expected to exceed RUB 500 billion by 2026. Based on the results of nine months of 2023, hundreds of exchange-traded funds operated in the Russian Federation, the owners of which were 7.3 million private investors.

VTB also predicts an increase in investments in digital financial assets. By 2026, the number of retail investors with DFA will exceed 500 thousand. The bank estimates the potential capacity of the DFA market at 60–70 billion rubles, but does not exclude “multiple growth in the presence of convenient channels for investing in new assets and an interesting product line.”

Leonid Uvarchev