Christmas will be tighter for many

The gross financial assets of the Hungarian population increased by more than 2,500 billion forints in three months – during the third quarter. This represents a daily average of 27 billion items, an annual increase of 13 percent, the latter far exceeding the 3.8-4.3 percent inflation measured in the months of the third quarter. “This also means that the population is placing increasing emphasis on savings and investments,” said Norbert Cinkotai, senior analyst at K&H Securities.

Changing composition

A significant change in savings is that while cash and deposits previously dominated, according to new data, mutual funds and listed shares are playing an increasingly important role. “This change indicates an improvement in financial awareness, as retail investors increasingly recognize that, although with greater risk, these instruments offer greater return opportunities in the long term,” the expert added.

There is nothing to complain about mutual funds and listed shares: their yield in the past two years was 2,500 billion forints. The performance of listed shares is particularly outstanding, where the yield reached 950 billion forints, which corresponds to a 43 percent increase. This significant return is primarily due to the fact that the leading indicator of the Budapest Stock Exchange, the BUX, has increased from 38 thousand to 74 thousand points in the past two years, and international investments are also increasingly popular, and their increase was also significant in forints.