Potential of individuals (Russians) to invest in the Russian stock market

The purpose of the research. The article presents three theses: 1) the share of private investors has significantly increased, making up 79% of the trading volume in 2023, which is 35% more than in 2019; 2) stock market volatility depends on such aspects as: firstly, private investors are more sensitive to the information background than investment funds and professional managers, they are more inclined to speculation, and on the other hand, the share of individuals who do not currently have investments in the Russian stock market, but are potentially ready to invest in any instruments, has not been sufficiently studied in terms of future behavior; 3) there is a need to build forecasts for the development of the stock market from the point of view of the behavior of current and potential investors. In order to analyze the behavior of potential investors, the research team of the Financial University conducted a mass questionnaire survey of Russians. The scientific novelty of the study is the expansion of the empirical framework of research on the topic of potential investment behavior of individuals with subsequent scientific conclusions. Results. The authors identified a number of characteristics of potential investors, presented through two groups: 1) those “planning” to invest in shares over a 3-year horizon – 26% of non-shareholders (66% of men, 34% of women); 2) those “indecisive”, who have an account with a Russian broker, but for one reason or another do not invest in shares (hereinafter referred to as “indecisive”) – 22% of non-shareholders (76% of men, 24% of women). The main factors limiting the entry of individuals into the investment world are knowledge of the financial sector, the competitiveness of bank deposits, and the high risk of investment activities. The most promising sector of the economy, according to potential investors, is industry.