Inheritance, on the other hand, is only considered a path to wealth by 18% of respondents, even though Danske Bank’s wealthiest clients typically come from inherited wealth or business sales.
Jarmo Kuljukka, head of private banking at Danske Bank, notes that while lottery winners are rare among the bank’s clientele, most have grown their fortunes through inheritances or the sale of companies. "Recently, we’ve also seen a rise in younger tech entrepreneurs who have sold their companies to private equity firms," Kuljukka said.
Only 9% of Finns see entrepreneurship as a viable way to amass wealth, while 16% consider a high-paying job as a potential route. Younger Finns are more likely to view entrepreneurship as a way to achieve financial success compared to older generations.
Interestingly, Finns remain more confident in traditional saving than in investing, despite growing access to financial markets. Just 14% believe they can build wealth by investing up to €500 a month in stocks or securities, while only 10% think investing more than €500 monthly will lead to wealth.
“Few people become wealthy through saving alone—you have to put your money to work,” said Kuljukka. He emphasized the power of time when it comes to investing. “For example, saving €200 a month for 20 years will yield €48,000. But if you invest that money and earn an average stock market return of 8%, you’ll end up with €114,532 after 20 years. Time is the investor’s best friend.”
Even though more Finns are inheriting money or property, many still hesitate to view it as an acceptable means of wealth accumulation. Only 18% of respondents said inheritance is a respectable way to get rich, and even fewer support the idea of building wealth through family assets or early inheritances.
Lottery wins were seen as the most socially acceptable path to wealth by 29% of Finns, followed by entrepreneurship, which 22% of respondents considered acceptable.
In 2020, the typical inheritance was around €14,000, though nearly 5,000 Finns received inheritances of more than €200,000 that year. Despite this, the stigma around inherited wealth remains. “It’s interesting that so few people see inheritance as acceptable, given how common it is,” Kuljukka remarked. "There may still be a sense in Finland that wealth should be self-made. But even a €14,000 inheritance can significantly improve financial peace of mind and provide a great starting point for investment."
Danske Bank has been conducting the Financial Peace of Mind survey across the Nordic countries since 2018. The study, based on data from YouGov, explores people’s confidence in their financial situation, the degree of financial stress they experience, and their outlook on the future.
For the 2024 edition, the Finnish sample included 3,031 respondents, with a margin of error of ±1.6% at a 95% confidence level.
HT
