About two-thirds (65%) of Romanian individual investors say they do not trust the prospects of the local economy, down from 70% at the end of 2025, according to the findings of a report released on Tuesday.
According to the results of eToro Retail Investor Beat, more investors consider that the state of the Romanian economy represents a risk for their portfolios (+2%), in the first three months of this year as against the previous quarter.
"The news that the government deficit narrowed to 7.65% of GDP in 2025 (on the cash methodology) from 8.67% in 2024 could explain this increase in confidence. Despite little progress from the previous quarter's survey, this low level of confidence in the Romanian economy is not surprising, given that the country continues to face slow growth and high inflation. Thus, Romania continues to have the highest inflation in the EU, and investors are preparing for even higher inflation due to the global economic situation triggered by the conflict with Iran and the steep increase in oil prices, which translates into higher prices at the pump," according to analyst Bogdan Maioreanu.
The survey also reveals a decrease in confidence in personal income, living standards and the cost of living. Thus, in the first quarter of 2026, only 66% of Romanian individual investors were confident about their standard of living, as against 70% at the end of 2025.
Among the age groups, the highest trust is again found in the youngest generation, Gen Z (18-27 years old) - with 76%, followed by Gen X (44-59 years old) - with 66%, Millennials (28-43 years old) - with 64% and Boomers (60-78 years old) - with 47%.
Also, in the last two quarters, the same percentage was maintained in terms of the level of confidence in job security, respectively 74% of respondents, the same as in the previous quarter.
According to the survey, 82% of Romanian investors remained confident in their own investment portfolios, and in terms of portfolio allocation, 50% own local shares, 37% have foreign shares, 51% some form of cryptoassets, 43% have Romanian bonds, while almost three-quarters (73%) hold cash, including in savings accounts.
When asked in which sectors they intend to increase their investments, 19% of Romanian investors indicated the technology sector, followed by energy (17%), financial services (16%), real estate (7%) and utilities, also 7%.
"Romania is particularly vulnerable at the moment to risks brought by external shocks, including energy price volatility and trade policy disruptions affecting EU export channels. High oil and gas prices are particularly worrying, as their effects will eventually be reflected in the prices of goods and services. This is also very visible in the way investors view the main risks for their investment portfolios, where inflation remains the main concern for 25% of Romanian retail investors this quarter, as it has been since the third quarter of last year. This is followed by a possible recession of the global economy (24%), the state of the Romanian economy (20%) and an international conflict (15%). But the situation in the Middle East, which has been largely unforeseen by investors, is likely to become a major threat in the coming quarter if it is prolonged, causing fuel prices and inflation to rise even higher, and disrupting local and international economies.
The Retail Investor Beat report was based on a survey of 11,000 individual investors in 13 countries on three continents. Of this total, one thousand respondents were from the U.K, U.S., Germany, France, Australia, Singapore, Italy and Spain, and 600 respondents from the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
The survey was conducted between February 12-27, 2026, by the research company Opinium.
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