UK investors boost their holdings in home grown shares – but the investing revolution has so far failed to materialise

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, highlights new ONS data showing that UK individuals have increased their holdings of UK shares to a record £295 billion. While the rise suggests renewed interest in UK equities, she warns that domestic ownership remains little changed over the past decade and argues that simplifying ISAs, rather than cutting Cash ISA allowances, would be a more effective way to encourage a broader investing culture in the UK.

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, comments:

“The UK has long been viewed as an out-of-favour market without much support from its own investors, but these figures show that Brits have increased their holdings in UK companies. The data looks at who actually owns the companies in the UK stock market, split between overseas owners, big banks, the UK government and individual investors, among others. 

“In 2024, the latest figures released by the ONS, individuals living in the UK owned 11.6% of the stock market, up from 10.8% two years earlier. In total, UK individuals owned £295 billion of the UK stock market, a record amount. This is up by almost £35 billion compared to 2022, thanks to rising stock markets and more ownership by individuals. 

“While the increase could be seen as a sign that more UK individuals are keen to invest and believe in the growth of UK plc, the longer-term figures don’t paint such an optimistic picture. If we compare the latest figures to a decade previously, in 2014 individuals owned 11.9% of the stock market – meaning we’ve actually seen a drop over that 10-year period. Looking back further, in 2010 UK individuals owned 11.5% of the UK stock market, meaning the dial has barely moved in the intervening 14 years.

“It’s clear that markets will go in and out of favour over the years, depending on the economy, outlook for the market and sentiment towards it, but the figures highlight that there is a still a long way to go to spark an investing revolution among the UK population. The government has consistently said it wants to make investing more mainstream and encourage people in the UK to invest in UK companies – but that’s not showing in the figures yet. Despite the growth in UK individuals owning UK shares in the latest figures, it’s eclipsed by the 58.8% of the UK stock market that’s owned by the rest of the world.

“Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been banging the drum for economic growth since before Labour came to power, with an emphasis on savers moving from cash to investing a key pillar of that strategy. However, the resulting solution of slashing the Cash ISA allowance to £12,000 for those under the age of 65 is unlikely to spark an investing revolution. Instead, it is far more likely to act as another barrier to the nation’s savers finally dipping their toes into investing.

“Research from AJ Bell at the end of 2025 showed that over half (56.7%) of retail investors say they are considering investing in UK shares this year*, higher than the number considering investing in global or US shares. The data highlights that investors already have a home bias. Rather than forcing structural change in the ISA system, the government should prioritise simplifying the retail investing landscape, starting with combining Cash and Stocks and Shares ISAs to break down the barriers that stop many would-be investors from getting started. Doing so would help channel more savings into the UK while achieving the retail investing revolution policymakers want, without overhauling the current ISA regime and introducing further complexity.”

*Based on an online survey of 1,726 AJ Bell customers carried out between 8 and 12 December 2025.