There are over 100,000 investors on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Many of them are ”voucher holders” and ended up on the Stock Exchange after the mass privatisation process carried out in the late 90s, when the privatisation vouchers were turned into shares in listed companies.

Therefore, the number of Romanians who headed for the Stock Exchange seeking a source of profit or income for the retirement years is relatively low. The main factors keeping Romanians away from the Stock Exchange are the low income and the lack of a financial education and discipline. ”One can start an investment on the Stock Exchange even with an average income of 500 euros per month. About 10% of this sum can go to the Stock Exchange. It is not a lot, but it’s a start. One should keep in mind, though, that an investor should not think that if they start out poor today and invest on the Stock Exchange, tomorrow they’ll be rich,” says Nicolae Pascu, chairman of brokerage company STK Financial.

”The Stock Exchange is open for anyone. Technically, there are no income barriers, but one basically needs around 500 euros in monthly income to invest on the stock exchange,” says Razvan Pasol, president of brokerage company Intercapital Invest. Perhaps even more important than the income are the savings of the future investors. More specifically, the money that investors can dispense with for at least a year or two, for which they have no plans, and, more importantly, the money they can afford to lose. This has been confirmed by the financial crisis, which led to shares falling by over 50% in certain periods. ”It matters less how much you make per month, what counts more is how much you can save. I would say 40 to 50% of the money left after all expenses are paid should go to the Stock Exchange. If the available cash amounts to less than 100,000 euros, it is rather difficult to make a stock exchange investment,” says Rares Nilas, president of BT Securities.

TRADUCERE DE LOREDANA FRATILA-CRISTESCU SI DANIELA STOICAN