By Ken Y-N ( June 9, 2009 at 23:29)
· Filed under Business, Polls
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Given that the interest rates on saving in Japan are laughably miniscule, I am surprised by the results of this survey from MyVoice into the usage of foreign currency savings (the sixth time the survey has been conducted) showing that about as many people are profiting (or not as the case may be) from exchange rate movements as from superior interest rates.
Demographics
Over the first five days of May 2009 14,952 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 34% in their thirties, 31% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.
I’ve got a bit of foreign savings (as I’m sure all my resident foreigner readers do!), but given the recent collapse in the UK pound exchange rate and in UK interest rates it’s not doing terribly well, to say the least! I’m not interested in active trading, however.
Research results
Q1: Have you ever had foreign currency savings or done currency trading? (Sample size=14,952)
| Currently doing so |
15.8% |
| Used to do so, but not now |
8.0% |
| Never done so |
76.1% |
Compared to the previous three times, the percentage of active and ex-traders has been slowly creeping up.
Q2: With which kind of financial institution do, did you mainly use? (Sample size=those with FX experience)
| Specialist foreign exchange trading company |
13.4% |
| e-bank (online-only bank) |
12.3% |
| Securities company |
10.7% |
| citibank |
10.3% |
| Sony Bank |
9.1% |
| Internet-only securities company |
8.4% |
| MUFJ Bank |
8.1% |
| Shinsei Bank |
6.9% |
| Local bank |
5.0% |
| Mitsui-Sumitomo Bank |
4.2% |
| Mizuho Bank |
2.8% |
| Risona Group |
1.9% |
| Trust bank |
1.1% |
| Credit union, credit association |
0.3% |
| Other |
5.3% |
| No answer |
0.2% |
Q3: How did, do you use foreign currency saving, FX? (Sample size=those with FX experience, multiple answer)
| Because the interest rate is good, I profit from medium- to long-term savings |
37.4% |
| Use differences in exchange rates to profit from short-term rate differentials |
29.0% |
| Use differences in exchange rates to profit from medium- to long-term rate differentials |
26.5% |
| Because the interest rate is good, I profit from short-term savings |
13.6% |
| In order to keep a balanced portfolio of investments I spread the risk |
11.9% |
| Because I feel uneasy about the Japanese yen, in order to spread the risk I use foreign exchange |
10.4% |
| Regularly add funds to my account |
5.4% |
| Other |
7.7% |
| No answer |
0.7% |
Q4: What did, do you use as information sources for foreign currency saving, FX? (Sample size=those with FX experience, multiple answer)
| Internet-based financial site |
42.5% |
| Business magazine |
15.8% |
| Talking to friends, family |
14.4% |
| Personal web site, blog |
11.1% |
| Explanations from a finance-related bricks-and-mortar establishment |
9.3% |
| Commercial web site other than finance-related |
8.6% |
| Newspaper column |
7.3% |
| Printed material other than business magazine |
6.3% |
| Television, news program |
6.1% |
| Finance-related posted, product leaflet |
6.1% |
| Explanations from company representative over telephone |
3.7% |
| Finance-related seminar |
2.5% |
| Newspaper advertisement, folded-in leaflet |
2.4% |
| Television advertisement |
1.1% |
| Public transport in-train, in-bus hanging advertisement, station advertisement |
0.4% |
| Radio |
0.4% |
| Other |
10.3% |
| No answer |
0.5% |
Q5: About how do in total you currently hold in foreign currency saving, FX options? (Sample size=those currently with FX holdings)
| Under 100,000 yen |
13.5% |
| 100,000 to 499,999 yen |
29.0% |
| 500,000 to 999,999 yen |
17.9% |
| 1,000,000 to 1,999,999 yen |
17.5% |
| 2,000,000 to 2,999,999 yen |
7.6% |
| 3,000,000 to 4,999,999 yen |
6.5% |
| 5,000,000 to 9,999,999 yen |
4.1% |
| 10,000,000 yen or more |
2.7% |
| No answer |
1.2% |
Q6: About how much would you want to have in total if you were to get involved, continue with foreign currency savings, FX in the future? (Sample size=14,952)
| Under 100,000 yen |
11.5% |
| 100,000 to 499,999 yen |
9.8% |
| 500,000 to 999,999 yen |
6.6% |
| 1,000,000 to 1,999,999 yen |
4.5% |
| 2,000,000 to 2,999,999 yen |
1.6% |
| 3,000,000 to 4,999,999 yen |
1.2% |
| 5,000,000 to 9,999,999 yen |
0.8% |
| 10,000,000 yen or more |
0.7% |
| Don’t think I want to do FX in the future |
39.7% |
| Don’t know |
23.5% |
Q7: Which currencies are you interested in savings, trading in? (Sample size=14,952, multiple answer)
US dollar
Q7: Which currencies are you interested in saving, trading in? (Sample size=14,952, multiple answer)
| US dollar |
27.5% |
| Euro |
19.3% |
| Australian dollar |
14.6% |
| Yen |
14.3% |
| New Zealand dollar |
8.9% |
| UK pound |
4.8% |
| Chinese yuan |
4.5% |
| South African rand |
4.4% |
| Canadian dollar |
2.6% |
| Swiss franc |
2.0% |
| Hong Kong dollar |
2.0% |
| Singapore dollar |
1.2% |
| Thailand baht |
1.0% |
| Other |
1.4% |
| Not interested in saving or trading any |
22.7% |
| Don’t know |
23.4% |
| No answer |
3.4% |
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Obvious Spambot there.
I have a large amount of UKP which if I could have converted to Yen a year ago I would have been practically rich as the rate then was 240. However, the collapse of the UKP vs the JPY means it is only a useful offset against my mortgage.
The UKP has strengthened a fair bit recently (remember it was down to 120 early in the year.) I would like to trade some of the money however the charges mean I could only profit if the rate changes by more than 3 yen. In the short term, that makes currency trading more risky than it is worth.