One topic of conversation at the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB)’s recent Investment Spring event was the prevalence of overnight deposits in Romania and the factors that could drive Romanians to invest in funds and equities.

"Individuals increased their deposits last year by nearly RON 15 billion ($3.5 billion) which went to overnight deposits (i.e. deposits having the maturity the following working day),” BRD Asset Management’s CEO Mihai Purcarea said in a press release. “This money does not produce enough value for the clients and it is next to nothing for the economy, so there is no win-win situation here."

BVB Chairman Lucian Anghel cited an IMAS survey that showed Romanians are more likely to turn to family and friends for money management advice, a problem considering that Romania’s financial literacy rate is the lowest in the European Union, according to a Standard & Poor study.

To turn this trend around, industry experts at the Investment Spring event place an emphasis on increased financial education and a focus on the dividends produced for equity investors. Anghel also focused on the positive trend of the country’s returns.

"Romania has been reporting positive returns in EUR for 5 years in a row,” Anghel said. “As opposed to other stock markets, the returns on the local capital market have always been in the black between 2012 and 2016 in euro-equivalent and have gone up by 97 percent during this time. Basically, those who invested in the capital market five years ago doubled their investment in euro-equivalent."