Brits more risk averse than Americans

[Smiffy]

A survey has pointed out that Brits take less risks than Americans when given the choice of having £50,000 or you toss a coin, the winner takes home £1m.


Which would you choose?

The vast majority in the UK decide on taking the £50k, according to a survey of thousands of people by YouGov. Women voted 82% in favour of the guaranteed cash. The majority of Americans took their chance.

The poll has sparked a debate about why Brits appear more risk-averse than people in the US.

I was once offered an immediate cash bonus by an employer, or double the amount if I waited a year. The boss was surprised when I took the immediate money, mainly because I didn't trust him an inch.

 

[TRS]

It's strange why Americans are so risky, because they came up with this saying: “a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow?”

 

[Sideburns]

Our cultural aversion to risk is known by the Treasury, the last Chancelor of the Exchequer attempted to take this on by preventing the long standing ISA tax free cash saving scheme to be fully available for those who are under retirement age. I believe it is being modified so that only a proportion of the limit can be saved as cash, the rest must be in equities, where of course there’s a risk of getting less back than you put in.

 

[Smiffy]

Our cultural aversion to risk is known by the Treasury, the last Chancelor of the Exchequer attempted to take this on by preventing the lond standing ISA tax free cash saving scheme to be unavailable for those who are under retirement age. It has been modified so that only a proportion of the limit can be saved as cash, the rest must be in equities, where of course there’s a risk of getting less back than you put in.

Ty, I didn't know that about Ms Reeves trying to mess around with ISAa.

It may also explain why the National Savings and Investment bank has such a strong support being risk free in terms of the bank failing.

I was in a casino in Macau a few years ago and an older Chinese lady brought in a carrier bag that was completely full of cash, she sat down and played roulette and didn't stand up until every note had been spent, I thought then that this would not happen in England, if I somehow had a bag full of bank notes it would go under my bed spending a little each week!

 

[Twelvefret]

As an American, I have taken risks, but seldom with what I considered a gamble. Buy low and sell high was more of my kind of risk.

There is a risk of getting out of bed. There are careless risks and calculated risks. I would also question any poll or study now days.

 

[AndThatsARockFact]

Sounds about right.

It’s sort of ingrained into our culture. Television has reinforced the plucky underdog and the lucky rags-to-riches hero for the last hundred years.

That said, I’ve always been extremely risk-adverse myself.

To have a true apples-to-apples test outcome, they’d have had to poll people of identical economic standing. To some people, $50k would be life-changing. To others, it’s chump change. And Americans carry an incredible amount of debt, generally speaking. The debtors didn’t get where they are from playing it safe. Instant gratification has pretty much become a way of life here.

Medical debt is also very common.

 

[Twelvefret]

There is also the concept of living in the moment, which has resonated with me more in the past 10 years. We can destroy the present by thinking about the future.