According to CMC Markets, Reading is the home to the keenest investors in the UK. Perhaps putting the ‘Berkshire’ into ‘Berkshire Hathaway‘! (Editor’s note – stick to the day job, Sam)
| 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 |
As you can see from the table above, this information was based on two factors. Firstly, the number of investment-related search queries each month. And secondly, the no. of search queries per 100,000 residents in each area.
“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.”
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An honourable mention must go to Bristol, pipping London (which many must have thought may top the list) to second place. Manchester and Edinburgh made up the top five, showing that investing in stocks is for all, without boundaries or any North/South divide.
Of course, that’s what we encourage here at The Motley Fool. We aim to provide solutions for investors of every kind. Our products and services — whether free or subscription-based — are designed to help people take control of their investments.
My quick takeaway
I find the search queries themselves interesting here, personally. ‘Stock market’ and ‘investment’ are very broad, for instance. To offer a peek behind the editorial curtain, we get many visitors to Fool.co.uk off the back of terms such as ‘Lloyds share price’, ‘FTSE 100’, ‘Cineworld shares’, etc.
To me, this only goes to underscore the vastness of the internet. How information on almost anything is available to us through a few seconds of typing.
Gone are the days of Ask Jeeves and typing full questions into search bars. A niche query is deemed to be as few as three words these days! What’s more, there are tailored news feeds to best serve us based on our interests: Google Discover, Flipboard, etc and so forth.
Excuse my whimsical trip down memory lane today, but I just wanted to shine a light on the powerful research tools that we have at our disposal.
And that’s why we do what we do here.
It is our firm belief that it serves every investor’s best interest to encounter and consider opposing viewpoints. Only by considering both sides of an argument — bull and bear, for instance — can someone come to a properly informed decision about whether to buy, or perhaps sell, a particular share.
To your investing!
