UK’s DIY investor market has never been more diverse

Boring Money: UK’s DIY investor market has never been more diverse

Data shows clear preference by different cohorts for particular platforms: 31% of ‘active traders’ name Trading212 as their primary provider, while Hargreaves Lansdown preferred by 15% of ‘disengaged holders’

A decade ago, the typical DIY investor was relatively easy to describe: typically a middle-aged, or older affluent man, keenly engaged and interested in stock markets, who managed a portfolio of shares from a desktop platform.

Today the market looks very different. The types of people getting into investing their money is broader and more diverse than ever before. There are now 14.1 million DIY investment accounts in the UK, equating to around 20% of the UK adult population, and these accounts are investing £572 billion of assets as at Q1 2026 (a 103% increase on total assets invested by DIY investors 10 years ago).

In a new report* surveying 8,400 DIY platform investors, Boring Money has identified six distinct investor personas, each with different investing habits, confidence levels and expectations from platforms.

Holly Mackay, founder and CEO of Boring Money, said:

“DIY investors look radically different in 2026 to how they did just a decade ago. The stereotype of the older man at the Surrey golf club is now out of date. Today’s landscape is a much broader spectrum across all age brackets and confidence labels. As new technologies and regulation allow more personalised engagement, trying to cater for all DIY investors as one homogenous group with common characteristics is no longer a viable approach.”

With one in five UK adults now investing, understanding investor behaviour has become increasingly important. Competition between platforms has intensified as newer entrants rapidly gain market share, forcing firms to think more carefully about which customer segments they serve best.

At the same time, the growing number of platforms, propositions and pricing models has made the DIY investment market increasingly difficult for consumers to navigate.

The largest segment identified in the research is ‘Active Traders’, representing 26% of DIY investors and holding an estimated £383bn in assets, more than the other five personas combined. The group shows a strong preference for mobile-first investing platforms, with 31% naming Trading 212 as their primary provider and half using more than one platform.

By contrast, the research suggests more established platforms continue to dominate among less engaged investors. ‘Disengaged Holders’ – investors who made no trades or contributions in the last 12 months, are most likely to use Hargreaves Lansdown despite collectively holding an estimated £89bn in assets.

The report identifies six investor personas across the market:

Disengaged Holders

-£89bn in assets.

-Older, often skewing female, rarely engage, goals tend to be long-term, investments compete with cash products.

Tentative Developers 

–£200bn.

-Older, pre-retirement or early retirement, investing for some time but cautious and not fully confident. Increasingly focused on retirement planning and wealth transfer.

Steady Builders: 

–£107bn.

-Midlife, looking to grow wealth before retirement. Confident but time-poor, prefer to contribute consistently and monitor infrequently.

Tactical Reactors

-£127bn.

-Mid-life, strong male skew, invest through irregular lump sums, act when conditions feel right rather than on a fixed schedule.

Engaged Optimisers 

-£130bn.

-Youngest cohort, mean age 38, confident and highly committed, making regular contributions and actively diversifying.

Active Traders 

-£383bn.

-Largest and most financially robust, high confidence, proactive, view market falls as buying opportunities.

The research also highlights growing divergence in engagement levels across the market. While Active Traders and Engaged Optimisers display high levels of confidence and platform activity, other segments continue to maintain substantial allocations to cash despite rising participation in investing overall.

_{*The research was conducted between June 2025 and February 2026 among 8,419 UK DIY investors, with quotas set by age, gender and region.}