Young Chinese chase high returns with little concern for risk: survey

China's college students increasingly use wealth management services, but still need to learn that risk and return are proportionate, a survey by Tsinghua University and Ant Financial shows.

Over one third of Chinese college students expect their investments to generate an annual return over 10 percent, and over 60 percent believe that there are investment options with high returns and very little risk, according to the report, which polled 5,000 Chinese college students born in the 1990s.

Such high expectations and lack of risk awareness, the report said, could make college students vulnerable to questionable products that downplay the risks that usually justify high returns.

The report found that students appeared more interested in opportunistic gain than in prudent investment decisions. Over 40 percent said they invested in stocks, the top option, despite the high volatility of China's stock market.

The report advised that investment knowledge be incorporated into the national curriculum to help the new generation put wealth management into perspective.

Over 80 percent of students surveyed agreed that they needed to learn the basics of investment and more than half expected to learn them in class. Endi