- Reading is the current investing capital of the UK, with 1,613 monthly investment-related search terms per 100 thousand people.
- Bristol placed second, with its population searching for investing terms 1,452 times a month per 100 thousand residents.
- London ranks third with 1,363 monthly investment-related search terms and Manchester fourth, with 1,348.
New analysis reveals that Reading is home to the keenest investors in the UK.
The study, by UK financial services provider CMC Markets, examined Google Ads data to discover the average monthly search volume for investment-related search terms across the most populated areas of the UK, to determine which areas are most interested in investing.
| Top 10 areas in the UK home to the keenest investors | |||
| Rank | Area | Combined number of monthly investment-related search terms | Number of search terms per 100 thousand people |
| 1. | Reading | 2,610 | 1,613 |
| 2. | Bristol | 6,780 | 1,452 |
| 3. | London | 122,680 | 1,363 |
| 4. | Manchester | 7,460 | 1,348 |
| 5. | Edinburgh | 6,250 | 1,185 |
| 6. | Glasgow | 6,650 | 1,110 |
| 7. | Birmingham | 12,300 | 1,070 |
| 8. | Nottingham | 3,500 | 1,056 |
| 9. | Leicester | 3,750 | 1,049 |
| 10. | Newcastle upon Tyne | 3,070 | 1,023 |
Search data compiled from Google Ads Keyword Planner
The research revealed that Reading is home to the keenest investors in the UK. Beating competition from the likes of London and Manchester, the population of Reading searches for terms related to investing approximately 1,613 times monthly per 100 thousand people. The most frequently searched investment-related term in Reading is ‘stock market’ with 360 average monthly searches, followed by ‘investment’ and ‘interest rate’, which both have 260 average monthly searches.
Bristol places second in the ranking, with Bristolians searching for investment-related terms approximately 1,452 times a month per 100 thousand people. Like Reading, the residents of Bristol are primarily interested in the term ‘interest rate’, searching it 1,000 times a month on average, followed by ‘stock market’ which receives 880 monthly average searches.
London placed next in the ranking, with the third highest number of searches for investing terms, with 1,363 searches per 100 thousand people. With a population of over nine million and home to the biggest business district in the country, it may be surprising that London places behind Reading and Bristol in the ranking. Londoners are most interested in the term ‘investment’, searching it a whopping 12,100 times per month on average, with other search terms such as ‘trading’ receiving an average 9,900 searches a month and ‘forex trading’ receiving 5,400 monthly average searches.
The study revealed that Manchester ranked closely behind London as the fourth area of the UK home to the keenest investors. Each month, Mancunians search for investing-related terms an average 7,460 times, which equates to approximately 1,348 monthly searches per 100 thousand people.
Ranking fifth is Edinburgh, with 1,185 monthly searches per 100 thousand residents. The Scottish capital ranked highly due to its population of more than 500,000 people and an average total of approximately 6,250 combined monthly search terms related to investing.
Glasgow ranks as the sixth area of the UK most interested in investing, with its population searching for terms related to investing approximately 1,110 times monthly per 100 thousand people. Glasgow residents are most interested in the phrase ‘’stock market’, searching it on average 720 times a month, followed by ‘equity’ which receives 590 average monthly searches.
Birmingham places seventh in the ranking, with 1,070 monthly searches being made per 100 thousand people for investing search terms. In total, there are 12,300 searches on average each month for investment-related terms such as ‘forex trading’, ‘day trading’ and ‘spread betting’.
Nottingham is home to the eighth keenest investors in the UK with 1,056 monthly searches per 100 thousand residents for terms related to investing, with Leicester following closely behind in ninth place with a rate of 1,049 monthly searches. Lastly, rounding out the top ten is Newcastle upon Tyne, which has a monthly total of approximately 1,023 searches.
The study was conducted by CMC Markets, a UK-based financial services company that offers online derivative trading such as spread betting and contracts for difference across world markets such as shares and foreign exchange.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. The vast majority of retail client accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.