A survey by the Korea Financial Consumer Protection Foundation revealed that smartphones have surpassed in-person financial institution visits as the primary channel for fund investment sign-ups.

The survey, conducted among 2,500 individuals aged 25-64 residing in Seoul, metropolitan cities, and new towns in the Seoul metropolitan area, found that 43.7% (multiple responses) of respondents used mobile channels to sign up for funds. This exceeded the 39.7% who opted for in-person visits to financial institutions.

Only respondents in their 50s and 60s showed a higher preference for in-person sign-ups over mobile channels. The most common reason for using smartphones for fund sign-ups was "convenient transaction systems" (56.9%).

However, the proportion of respondents investing in funds decreased to 26.8%, down 4.8 percentage points from 31.6% in 2023. The average investment amount for general funds (32.36 million won) and tax-advantaged funds (35 million won) also decreased by 15.67 million won and 9.93 million won, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The primary reasons for not investing in funds were "preference for stable methods like savings and deposits" (24.2%), "lack of funds for investment" (20.5%), and "more attractive investment options elsewhere" (15.7%). Compared to the 2023 survey, only the response "more attractive investment options elsewhere" increased by 1.5 percentage points, while other responses decreased.

Furthermore, a significant portion of respondents admitted to merely opening investment prospectuses and terms and conditions without thoroughly reading them during the fund sign-up process: 64.6% on PCs and 71.3% on mobile devices. This represented an increase of 14.5 percentage points on PCs and 9.5 percentage points on mobile devices compared to 2023.

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