ARE WE FINANCIALLY PREPARED FOR THE … WE FINANCIALLY PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE? SAVING AND INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AROUND THE WORLD JANUARY 2014 2 GLOBAL SAVING & INVESTING REPORT GAP

A R E W E F I N A N C I A L LY P R E PA R E D F O R T H E F U T U R E ?SAVING AND INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AROUND THE WORLD

JANUARY 2014

2 GLOBAL SAVING & INVESTING REPORT

GAP BETWEEN FINANCIAL REALITY AND EXPECTATIONS

MORE RESPONDENTS ARE PLANNING TO ACTIVATE SAVINGS

PLANS IN THE FUTURE THAN ARE ACTIVELY SAVING/

INVESTING NOW

FUTURE INVESTMENT APPETITE IS STRONGER IN DEVELOPING

COUNTRIES

GLOBALLY, MORE THAN HALF ARE CONFIDENT THEY WILL

ACHIEVE THEIR FINANCIAL GOALS

ACTIVE SAVING FOR HEALTH ISSUES, HOUSEHOLD

EMERGENCIES AND RETIREMENT ARE TOP PRIORITIES

GLOBALLY, MORE RESPONDENTS SAY THAT SAVING FOR THEIR

CHILDREN’S FUTURE IS THE PRIMARY GOAL ALLOCATED WITH

THE HIGHEST MONTHLY INVESTMENT CONTRIBUTION

Money can be tight no matter where we live. After paying essential living

expenses, there is often too little money left for spending or saving on

discretionary items. In fact, Nielsen reports that around the world we

allot just 10 percent of our monthly income for saving and investment

purposes on average. Is that enough? How prepared are we for an

unexpected household emergency, health issue or job loss? Will we be

financially secure when we retire? Can we afford to pay higher education

costs? Are we saving enough for our children’s future?

3GLOBAL SAVING & INVESTING REPORT Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company

To help answer these questions, Nielsen conducted a global study to

understand current and future financial goals and the strategies we

use to prepare for them. The findings revealed that more respondents

around the world are focused on future saving or investing intentions

than on active or current plans. While current and future saving and

investment sentiment was relatively strong, there was a sizeable gap

between the two, as well as among those who said they had no plans

to save now or in the future. Closing the gap between desire and action

depends on a variety of reasons, least of which is earning enough money

to stash cash. Either way, both scenarios have economic consequences

to consider.

“Preparing for one’s financial future has implications that go beyond

personal needs,” said Oliver Rust, senior vice president, Global Financial

Services, Nielsen. “Particularly in mature economies, there are growing

concerns about reliance on governments to support expenses such

as retirement, health care and education as growing numbers of the

population enters retirement age. Understanding consumer sentiment

on the saving strategies used to fund financial goals now and in the

future provides insight to help close the gap between reality and

expectations.”

The Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies polled

more than 30,000 Internet respondents in 60 countries to evaluate

how consumers around the world were preparing for current and future

financial expenses. We evaluated 16 different saving and investment

strategies used to fund 14 financial goals that range from unexpected

life events and shorter-term goals, such as unexpected household

emergencies and buying a house, to longer-term objectives, such as

saving for retirement and for their children’s future.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The findings in this survey are based on respondents with online

access across 60 countries. While an online survey methodology

allows for tremendous scale and global reach, it provides a

perspective only on the habits of existing Internet users, not total

populations. In developing markets where online penetration has

not reached majority potential, audiences may be younger and more

affluent than the general population of that country. Additionally,

survey responses are based on claimed behavior, rather than actual

metered data.


FUTURE INVESTMENT PLANS ARE STRONGER THAN CURRENT INTENTIONSThere’s always tomorrow was the sentiment that applied to the greatest

percentage of respondents around the world who plan to save or invest

to meet financial goals in the future, compared with those who were

actively saving or investing now. Across all 14 goals reviewed, intentions

to save in the future were stronger than active intentions for all but one

financial goal—health issues, whereby global active savers outnumbered

future savers by just one percentage point (42% active savers vs. 41%

future savers). For those who were actively saving now, particular life

events, such as health issues or unexpected household emergencies

were priorities among more respondents at the global level (42% and

41%, respectively) versus saving for a longer-term financial goal, such as

retirement (35%).

Overall, plans to save in the future were strongest among respondents

in the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East/Africa regions,

especially for intentions to fund their children’s futures, higher

education, first- and second-time property purchases, personal luxuries,

financial legacy, and new businesses. In North America and Europe,

future saving intentions were comparatively lower for funding higher

education, starting a business and preparing for certain live events, such

as marriage or having a baby.

“The greater number of respondents planning to save in the future

versus saving now suggests an opportunity to better educate consumers

on saving and investment strategies that will help them meet their

financial goals,” said Rust. “It also shines a light on the growing wealth

accumulation among consumers in the more developing regions of

the world and their aspirations for upward mobility with a more secure

financial future.”


GLOBAL AVERAGE - PERCENT ACTIVE VS. FUTURE SAVING/INVESTING INTENTIONS

NOW VS. LATER SAVING/INVESTING INTENTIONS

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies, Q3 2013

LIFE EVENTS SHORTER-TERM GOALS LONGER-TERM GOALS

I ACTIVELY SAVE NOW

I PLAN TO SAVE IN THE FUTURE

HEALTH ISSUES PERSONAL LUXURY PURCHASE

RETIREMENT

CHILDREN’S FUTURE

HIGHER EDUCATION

FINANCIAL LEGACY

SECOND HOME PURCHASE

UNEXPECTED HOUSEHOLD EMERGENCIES FIRST-TIME

HOME PURCHASE

LOSS OF JOB INCOMEUPGRADED PROPERTY PURCHASE

MARRIAGE

START-UP BUSINESS

HAVING A BABY

42%41%

29% 35%45% 44%

28%36%

23%41%

23%37%

41%44%

31%43%

23%31%

19%36%

34%42%

28%33%

19%44%

18%38%

OPEN


HIGH CONFIDENCE IN ACHIEVING FINANCIAL GOALS The glass was half full for nearly seven out of 10 global respondents

(69%) who believed they would achieve all of their financial goals for

the future. Yet, of those, only 28 percent felt that their current financial

planning would get them there. Most of the group (41%) was less self-

assured, conceding that in order to best meet financial expectations,

they would need to closely monitor and adjust investments from time to

time. Nearly one-third of global respondents (31%) had no confidence

they would meet their financial goals with either current or modified

asset allocations.

Overall, financial confidence was highest in Asia-Pacific, where more

than two-thirds (78%) of respondents said their planning was sound

and on track for the future (32% were satisfied with their current plan

and 46% would make adjustments). Financial planning was also in good

standing among two-thirds of respondents in Middle East/Africa (67%),

North America (66%) and Latin America (62%), with about one-fourth in

each region saying they were satisfied with their existing strategies.


Planning sentiment for the financial future was less secure among

European respondents, where almost half (46%) were not confident they

would achieve their goals. Among the 55 percent that were confident,

21 percent believed they would achieve their objectives with current

planning, and 34 percent said they would make changes to stay on

course.

Meeting financial goals takes a monetary commitment, and perhaps

Asia-Pacific and Middle East/Africa online respondents were especially

confident about the future because of the volume of income dedicated

as well as the increased income contributions they made toward

investments over the past 12 months. Half of respondents in both

regions (Asia-Pacific 54% and Middle East/Africa 50%) increased

the percentage of take-home pay dedicated toward reaching financial

goals, compared with Latin Americans (36%), North Americans (29%)

and Europeans (27%). Nearly one-fifth of Middle East/Africa online

respondents (18%) increased contributions significantly—more than 25

percent, which was comparatively higher than the global average of 10

percent. More than half of North Americans (55%) were satisfied with

the status quo, maintaining income contributions from the previous

year, compared to the global average of 40 percent.

I AM CONFIDENT I WILL ACHIEVE MY FINANCIAL GOALS

I INCREASED THE PERCENT OF INCOME TOWARD GOALS OVER PAST 12 MONTHS

FINANCIAL CONFIDENCE WAS HIGHEST IN ASIA-PACIFIC

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies, Q3 2013

Asia-Pacific Middle East/Africa North America

Latin America Europe

78%

67%

66%

62%

55%

ASIA-PACIFIC

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

NORTH AMERICA

LATIN AMERICA

EUROPE

54%

50%

36%

29%

27%

ASIA-PACIFIC

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

LATIN AMERICA

NORTH AMERICA

EUROPE


GOOD HEALTH EQUALS GOOD LIFESTRATEGIES TO SAVE FOR HEALTH ISSUES

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. China, which is on pace to

produce 37.5 million metric tons of apples* in 2013, is covering its bases

as the country with the highest percent of active savers for health-

related issues (63%). In fact, in the Asia-Pacific region, 55 percent

of respondents were actively saving for health concerns, which was

comparatively higher than the global average of 42 percent. Saving now

for health issues was also a priority among the more-developing regions,

encompassing 41 percent of respondents in the Middle East/Africa

and 38 percent in Latin America, while North Americans (33%) and

Europeans (24%) were less likely to save now for health-related issues.

Asia-Pacific respondents also reported one of the most diversified

strategies of saving for health issues, using a mix of local bank accounts

(55%), whole life insurance (39%), pure-term life insurance (28%) and

saving plans (24%). The highest rate of diversification, however, was

reported in the Middle East/Africa region, where focus was put less

on local bank accounts and more on a greater number of investment

products to achieve their goal. In this region, eight investment products

prompted response rates from at least 20 percent of respondents, which

included: local bank accounts (39%), whole life insurance, government-

initiated products (both at 25%), pure-term life insurance (22%),

company pension (22%), private pension (22%) and investment-linked

insurance (21%).

* Source: 2012 Apple Association Crop Outlook and Marketing Conference


Latin American respondents largely utilized local bank accounts (43%)

to save for health-related issues, but also found value in whole life

insurance (26%), pure-term life insurance (22%) and government-

initiated retirement products (20%). Conversely, Europeans and North

Americans were the least diversified when it came to saving strategies

used to fund health issues. Half of Europeans (50%) and North

Americans (52%) utilized local bank accounts and one-fifth in each

region relied on whole life insurance.

Time was of the essence when it came to considering the amount of

time needed to fund health-related issues among more than half of Latin

American (55%) and Middle Eastern/African (54%) online respondents

who said they were less than one year away from achieving this goal. A

longer time span was necessary for half of respondents in Asia-Pacific

(50%), North America (50%) and Europe (46%), who were three or

more years away from feeling secure that they have saved enough to

achieve this goal.

“Funding for health care is a significant issue among consumers in

many developing countries where assistance from health plans or

government sources are not heavily relied upon or available,” said Rust.

“These consumers are taking their health seriously and aren’t hesitating

to take the necessary means to reach the next level of financial security.

They’re actively investing at a higher rate, diversifying their investments

to create more predictable outcomes, and focusing on achieving them

sooner rather than later.”


ASIA-PACIFIC EUROPE MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA LATIN AMERICA NORTH

AMERICA

55% Local bank

accounts

50% Local

bank accounts

39% Local bank

accounts43% Local bank accounts

52% Local bank

accounts

39% Whole life

insurance

22% Whole

life insurance

25% Whole life

insurance and

Government-initiated

retirement products

26% Whole life insurance20% Whole life

insurance

28% Pure-term

life insurance

22% Pure-term life

insurance, Savings

plans, Private pension

and Company pension

22% Pure-term life

insurance

24% Savings

plans

21% Investment-linked

insurance 20% Government-initiated

retirement products

21% Company

pension and

Investment-linked

insurance

TOP METHODS TO SAVESTRATEGIES USED BY +20% OF RESPONDENTS

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies, Q3 2013 Due to rounding, numbers may not equal 100%

HEALTH ISSUES

NOW VS. LATER SAVING / INVESTING INTENTIONS

TIME FRAME TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL GOALS

ASIA-PACIFIC EUROPE MIDDLE EAST /

AFRICALATIN

AMERICANORTH

AMERICA

I Actively Save/Invest Now 55% 24% 41% 38% 33%

I Plan to Save/Invest in the Future 38% 41% 46% 48% 46%

I Will Not Save/Invest Now or in Future 7% 35% 13% 14% 21%

Less than 1 year 35% 37% 54% 55% 31%1 year to less than 5 years 31% 30% 27% 24% 33%5 years to less than 20 years 24% 22% 13% 15% 26%20 years or more 11% 10% 5% 7% 11%

SCORECARD


EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTEDSTRATEGIES TO SAVE FOR UNEXPECTED HOUSEHOLD EMERGENCIES

As the single financial goal with the highest percentage of active savers

in North America, Latin America and Europe, and the second-highest

percentage in Asia-Pacific and Middle East/Africa, it seemed that saving

for unexpected household emergencies was anything but unexpected.

Nearly half of Asia-Pacific respondents (47%) were actively investing to

fund this financial goal, followed by Middle East/Africa (40%), North

America (39%), Latin America (38%) and Europe (32%).

Whether dollars, euros or yen, it’s always helpful to have cash on hand

when emergencies pop up. The common thread across all regions was

the use of local currency as the primary investment strategy to fund

this goal: Europe (65%), North America (61%), Asia-Pacific (56%),

Latin America (49%) and Middle East/Africa (47%). Aside from cash,

other methods to save varied. Asia-Pacific respondents were more

likely to utilize whole life insurance (27%), and saving plans (24%),

and pure-term life insurance (20%). Latin Americans relied on whole

life insurance (27%), pure-term life insurance (20%) and government-

initiated products (20%) most commonly. One-fifth of Europeans and

North Americans counted on saving plans.

Much like the time span necessary to achieve funding for health-related

issues, online respondents in the Middle East/Africa and Latin America

had shorter-term success in mind when meeting goals for household

emergencies. Forty-percent of respondents in Latin America and 37

percent in the Middle East/Africa believed they were less than six

months away from saving enough, while roughly the same percentages

in Europe (45%), Asia-Pacific (41%), and North America (37%) needed

between six months and three years to reach this saving goal.


ASIA-PACIFIC EUROPE MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA LATIN AMERICA NORTH AMERICA

56% Local bank accounts


47% Local bank accounts 49% Local bank accounts 61% Local bank accounts

27% Whole life insurance

20% Saving plans

28% Government-initiated retirement products

27% Whole life insurance 22% Saving plans

24% Savings plans

24% Private pension 21% Investment-linked insurance

20% Pure-term life insurance

23% Whole life insurance and Saving plans

20% Pure-term life insurance and Government-initiated retirement products

22% Unit trust

UNEXPECTED HOUSEHOLD EMERGENCIES





AFRICALATIN

AMERICANORTH

AMERICA




Less than 1 year 33% 46% 57% 61% 45%

1 year to less than 5 years 39% 36% 29% 27% 33%

5 years to less than 20 years 20% 13% 10% 10% 16%

20 years or more 7% 5% 4% 3% 6%


SCORECARD


UNEXPECTED HOUSEHOLD EMERGENCIES

MAKING THE GOLDEN YEARS MORE GOLDENSTRATEGIES TO SAVE FOR RETIREMENT

How golden our golden years will be depends largely on how well we

invest for our retirement. North American and Asia-Pacific respondents

were the most actively engaged savers, with 39 percent of respondents

in both regions currently saving to fund this goal. North America’s

strong focus on saving for retirement was also evidenced by the 30

percent of respondents who said that this was the one financial goal

that received the highest monthly contribution—more than double the

global average of 12 percent that said the same. Less than one-third of

respondents in Latin America (32%), Middle East/Africa (30%), and one-

fourth in Europe (26%) were presently saving for retirement. In Europe,

40 percent of respondents indicated that they had no intention to save

for retirement at all, compared to the global average of 22 percent.

“The difference in public and private retirement benefit programs gives

context to retirement saving sentiment reported by consumers around

the world,” said Rust. “When Americans retire, public-issued retirement

benefits are typically much less than the amount they earned while they

were employed; by comparison, Europeans rely on a greater share of

their income. But that is changing in some European markets where

mandatory employer pension plans are put in place in order to replace

government plans in the longer term. Now more than ever, a greater

reliance on private savings is needed to compensate.”


A diverse portfolio of products and services were deployed when it came

to the saving and investment strategies used to fund retirement. In the

Middle East/Africa, 14 of 16 different investment products were used by

more than 20 percent of respondents, with local bank accounts (60%),

company pension (41%), government-initiated products (40%) and

whole life insurance (40%) the most popular options. In Asia-Pacific, 12

products were deployed among more than 20 percent of respondents,

with local bank accounts (64%), company pension (49%), whole life

insurance (37%), private pension (36%) and government initiated

products (35%) most relied on.

In Latin America and North America, eight products were used among

more than 20 percent of respondents. Latin Americans largely utilized

local bank accounts (55%), but also valued government-initiated

products (40%), whole life insurance (35%) and company pension

(35%). Most North Americans used local bank accounts (58%), followed

by company pension (38%), stocks (33%) and bonds (28%). Europeans

were the least diversified of the regions, with only five products used

by more than 20 percent of respondents: local bank accounts (59%),

private pension (39%), whole life insurance (32%), company pension

(32%) and government-initiated products (27%).

As would be expected, the time frame to achieve financial goals

for retirement was longer than other shorter-term goals. Half of all

respondents said it would take 10 years or more to save enough for

retirement, with Europeans (56%), North Americans (52%) and Latin

Americans (52%) exceeding that average.


RETIREMENT



AFRICALATIN

AMERICANORTH

AMERICA




Less than 1 year 18% 12% 30% 17% 19%1 year to less than 5 years 17% 17% 17% 16% 16%5 years to less than 20 years 40% 35% 27% 36% 41%20 years or more 24% 36% 26% 31% 25%


Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies, Q3 2013 | Due to rounding, numbers may not equal 100%


SCORECARD


64% Local bank accounts 59% Local bank accounts 60% Local bank accounts 55% Local bank

accounts58% Local bank accounts

49% Company pension 39% Private pension 41% Company pension


38% Company pension


32% Whole life insurance and Company pension

40% Whole life insurance and Government-initiated retirement products

35% Whole life insurance and Company pension

33% Stock trading

36% Private pension

27% Government-initiated retirement products 33% Private pension 32% Private pension 28% Bonds and

Private pension


26% Unit trust, Property investment and Saving plans

21% Unit trust, Pure term life insurance and Saving plans

26% Structured investment products

26% Savings plans 23% Bonds 24% Whole life insurance

24% Stock trading, Pure term life insurance

25% Foreign currency, Stock trading, Pure term life insurance, Investment-linked insurance

22% Savings plans

23% Bonds 23% Structured investment products

21% Investment-linked insurance 22% Bonds

20% Unit trust


PAVING THE WAY FOR OUR CHILDRENSTRATEGIES TO SAVE FOR THE CHILDREN’S FUTURE

“A person’s a person, no matter how small,” famously written by

Dr. Seuss in his children’s classic, HORTON HEARS A WHO. That

sentiment rang truest among respondents in Asia-Pacific (43%) and

the Middle East/Africa (35%), where saving for their children’s future

exceeded the global average of 34 percent. Latin Americans (30%),

Europeans (25%) and North Americans (19%) were not as immediately

engaged. It was also one goal that rose above the others in every

region (except North America) as receiving the highest monthly income

allocation among active savers.

Middle East/African respondents utilized a diversified saving strategy

for their children’s future, with all 20 investment products used by more

than 25 percent of respondents. Local bank accounts (60%), whole life

insurance (47%), children’s education fund (41%) and government-

initiated products (37%) were the top methods used. More than 20

percent of Latin Americans deployed 18 investment products—most

popular strategies included local bank accounts (59%), whole life

insurance (44%), children’s education fund (39%), and saving plans

(31%). In Asia-Pacific, local bank accounts (65%), children’s education

fund (44%), whole life insurance (32%) and saving plans (31%) were the

most popular investment products deployed.


Comparatively, respondents in North America and Europe were not

as diversified in funding their children’s future. More than 20 percent

of North Americans were satisfied with five of 20 products, while

Europeans relied upon only four. North Americans utilized local bank

accounts (51%), followed by whole life insurance (30%), saving plans

(25%), children’s education fund (22%) and foreign currencies (20%).

Top investment strategies in Europe included, local bank accounts

(60%), whole life insurance (29%), children’s education fund (27%) and

saving plans (22%).

The majority of online respondents in the Middle East/Africa (58%) and

Latin America (52%) believed they were less than five years away from

achieving their financial goal for saving for the children’s future, while

half European (59%), North American (57%) and Asia-Pacific (49%)

respondents needed more time—five or more years.

“Saving priorities are largely dictated by local market dynamics,” said

Rust. “In markets where consumers are hit by high school fees and

the lack of public school availability, a significantly larger proportion

of income and savings is dedicated towards ensuring children receive

a good education from an early age. For consumers in markets where

public schools are the norm, we do tend to see longer-term saving

strategies that are dedicated specifically to the high cost of ensuring

children receive tertiary-level education.”


CHILDREN’S FUTURE




AFRICALATIN

AMERICANORTH

AMERICA




Less than 1 year 18% 12% 30% 17% 19%



20 years or more 24% 36% 26% 31% 25%




60% Local bank accounts 59% Local bank accounts


44% Children education fund


47% Whole life insurance 44% Whole life insurance






25% Saving plans

31% Saving plans 22% Saving plans


31% Saving plan 22% Children education fund

28% Pure-term life insurance

34% Foreign currencies 29% Pure-term life insurance

20% Foreign currencies



SCORECARD


CHILDREN’S FUTURE

A SAFETY NET IF WE ARE DROPPEDSTRATEGIES TO SAVE FOR THE LOSS OF A JOB/INCOME

Whether it is interest rates, gas prices or the cost of milk, many of the

financial decisions we make exist on a sliding scale. While we plan

and adjust our expectations regularly, what happens when the bottom

drops out? Planning for unemployment while you’re employed provides

a necessary parachute to soften the landing. Asia-Pacific respondents

were most actively building a safety net, with 36 percent in the region

currently saving for the loss of income. Respondents in Middle East/

Africa (33%), North America (31%) and Latin America (28%) were

close behind, but Europe trailed all the regions substantially at 20

percent. The number of European respondents actively not planning for

retirement (44% compared to a global average of 26%) only magnified

this finding.

“While increasing the awareness of good financial planning is critical,

the difference in severance payments mandated by the governments in

these respective regions may explain some of the differences in savings

plans,” said Rust. “In regions where high levels of mandated employee

protections are in place in the event of severance, we see lower levels

of planning associated with such events—however this safety net

isn’t provided to all consumers. Trust is also a factor, and there is still

trepidation ever since the economic downturn in relying too heavily on

investments.”

Local bank accounts were used by fewer Middle East/Africa respondents

(37%) than the other regions to plan for the loss of a job, but they relied

on alternate methods at higher rates to compensate. One-fourth of

respondents used foreign currency (26%), stock trading (26%), stocks

(25%) and bonds (25%). In Latin America, local bank accounts (44%),

saving plans (23%), private pensions (21%) and government-initiated

products (21%) were among the most commonly utilized products in

the region. Asia-Pacific respondents were slightly less diversified, but

still counted local bank accounts (49%), stock trading (21%), saving

plans (21%) and company pension (20%). Conversely, Europe and North

America were the least diversified regions, where half of respondents

(52% and 47%, respectively) relied upon local bank accounts to save

for possible unemployment. The majority of respondents globally (52%)

believed they were less than three years away from saving enough to

sustain a job loss.


LOSS OF JOB/INCOME




AFRICALATIN

AMERICANORTH

AMERICA




Less than 1 year 26% 32% 43% 45% 32%



20 years or more 10% 10% 9% 8% 9%






21% Stock trading and Saving plans

26% Foreign currencies and Stock trading

23% Saving plans

20% Company pension

25% Government-initiated retirement products and bonds

21% Private pension and Government-initiated retirement products

23% Structured investment products, Saving plans, Company pension and Private pension

20% Foreign currencies, Bonds and Company pension

22% Unit trust



SCORECARD


LOSS OF JOB/INCOME

THE JOY OF HOME OWNERSHIPSTRATEGIES TO SAVE FOR A FIRST-TIME HOME

Buying a first home can be overwhelming, exciting, scary, rewarding

and most of all, hard work. A lot of strategic planning goes into what

is typically a longer-term financial commitment for most first-time

home buyers. The greatest percentage of active savers were found in

Asia-Pacific (35%), followed closely by respondents in Middle East/

Africa (31%), Latin America (26%) and North America (23%). European

respondents trailed the other regions at 17 percent.

Using local bank accounts to fund a first-time home purchase was the

dominant source across the regions, but a mix of stocks and bonds were

also deployed. In the Middle East/Africa region, the most commonly

used products were local bank accounts (47%), foreign currency (29%),

stock trading (28%), property investment (28%) and government-

initiated products (27%). Latin Americans relied on local bank accounts

(48%), property investment (25%), foreign currencies (23%) and

stock trading (21%). Asia-Pacific respondents relied on local bank

accounts (52%), stock trading (26%) and property investment (23%).

Respondents in North America and Europe utilized local bank accounts

(37% and 54%, respectively) at the highest rates.

The majority of respondents in all regions believed they would meet their

goals for a first-time property purchase in less than three years, with the

exception of Europe, where expectations were longer— less than five

years. One-fifth of respondents in Middle East/Africa (22%) and North

America (21%) had high expectations that they would achieve this goal

in less than six months.

“The aspirations of upward mobility and the opportunity to own a home

is apparent in some of the more developing regions of the world,” said

Rust. “But due to the cost of housing, affordability and the amount of

disposable income makes it easier to attain in some markets more than

others.”


FIRST-TIME PROPERTY PURCHASE





AFRICALATIN

AMERICANORTH

AMERICA




Less than 1 year 28% 28% 43% 34% 37%



20 years or more 3% 10% 4% 4% 8%






26% Stock trading

29% Foreign currencies 25% Property investment

23% Property investment

28% Stock trading and Property investment

23% Foreign currencies

20% Saving plans


21% Stock trading

26% Bonds


SCORECARD

23Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company

COUNTRIES INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY

Estonia 78%

Finland 89%

France 80%

Germany 83%

Greece 53%

Hungary 65%

Ireland 77%

Israel 70%

Italy 58%

Latvia 72%

Lithuania 65%

Netherlands 93%

Norway 97%

Poland 65%

Portugal 55%

Romania 44%

Russia 48%

Serbia 56%

Slovakia 79%

Slovenia 72%

Spain 67%

Sweden 93%

Switzerland 82%

Turkey 46%

United Kingdom 84%

Ukraine 34%

Source: Internet World Stats, June 30, 2012

LATIN AMERICAMARKET INTERNET

PENETRATION

Argentina 66%

Brazil 46%

Chile 59%

Colombia 60%

Mexico 37%

Peru 37%

Venezuela 41%

MIDDLE EAST / AFRICAMARKET INTERNET

PENETRATION

Egypt 36%

Pakistan 15%

Saudi Arabia 49%

South Africa 17%

United Arab Emirates

71%

NORTH AMERICA

MARKET INTERNET PENETRATION

Canada 83%

United States 78%

ASIA-PACIFICMARKET INTERNET

PENETRATION

Australia 89%

China 40%

Hong Kong 75%

India 11%

Indonesia 22%

Japan 80%

Malaysia 61%

New Zealand 88%

Philippines 32%

Singapore 75%

South Korea 83%

Taiwan 75%

Thailand 30%

Vietnam 34%

EUROPEMARKET INTERNET

PENETRATION

Austria 80%

Belgium 81%

Bulgaria 51%

Croatia 71%

Czech Republic 73%

Denmark 90%

ASIA PACIFIC

EUROPE

LATIN AMERICA

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

NORTH AMERICA

GLOBAL SAVING & INVESTING REPORT

ABOUT THE NIELSEN GLOBAL SURVEY

The Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies was

conducted between August 14 and September 6, 2013, and polled

more than 30,000 consumers in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific,

Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The

sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on

their Internet users, and is weighted to be representative of Internet

consumers and has a maximum margin of error of ±0.6%. This Nielsen

survey is based on the behavior of respondents with online access only.

Internet penetration rates vary by country. Nielsen uses a minimum

reporting standard of 60 percent Internet penetration or 10M online

population for survey inclusion. The Nielsen Global Survey, which

includes the Global Consumer Confidence Survey, was established in

2005.

ABOUT NIELSEN Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and

measurement company with leading market positions in marketing

and consumer information, television and other media measurement,

online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in

approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and

Diemen, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen and

the Nielsen logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of CZT/ACN

Trademarks, L.L.C. Other product and service names are trademarks or

registered trademarks of their respective companies. 14/7300


Documents

ARE WE FINANCIALLY PREPARED FOR THE … WE FINANCIALLY PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE? SAVING AND INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AROUND THE WORLD JANUARY 2014 2 GLOBAL SAVING & INVESTING REPORT GAP