Professional Advice Drives Retirement Confidence, Amundi Study Finds

The Decoding Investors study, conducted by the Crédit Agricole subsidiary, surveyed 18,000 individuals across 26 countries. While investors anticipate that personal savings will cover 42 percent of their retirement needs—a figure that climbs above 50 percent in Asia—many remain hesitant to deploy capital. Fear of loss keeps 39 percent of savers on the sidelines, even as cash holdings remain elevated across affluent and high-net-worth brackets.

Financial literacy remains a persistent hurdle. Seventy percent of self-described experts failed a basic three-question literacy test, with high-net-worth individuals scoring lowest despite their high confidence levels. Meanwhile, technology is rapidly altering behavior: the use of AI assistants for investment ideas has quadrupled to 19 percent in a single year. Seven in 10 investors have now incorporated AI into their decision-making processes, while 46 percent look to social media influencers for guidance, particularly in markets like India and Brazil.