Between 2014 and 2018, some 116 non-financial corporations obtained listings on the stock exchange in Italy, against 39 in the previous five years, and over 500 companies placed bonds for the first time. The share of household savings entrusted to institutional investors has increased by 14 percentage points over the last decade, to 31 per cent. These developments have been favoured by tax incentives.
Recourse to equity has been encouraged as have bond issues by non-listed companies; other incentives have supported investment in venture capital funds and in the securities issued by innovative firms. The introduction in 2016 of individual savings plans (piani individuali di risparmio or PIRs) has favoured household investment in Italian companies’ securities.