German retail investors, which have historically been among the most active in Europe, have started to pull out of the equities markets since the start of the credit crisis, a trend that is set to continue if the government goes ahead with a proposed tax increase on capital gains next year.

The number of people in Germany directly holding shares fell to 3.8 million in the second half of last year, as anxieties about the credit crisis took hold, according to a survey of 30,000 people by the DAI German Share Institute. This was the lowest level recorded since 1996.