The Wolves of West Sussex! Rusper, the quiet village that's home to 1,400 is revealed as Britain's capital of online stock market trading

With an ancient church, cosy pubs and a red telephone box, it looks like a typical English village.

But behind the neatly trimmed hedges and Farrow & Ball-painted front doors, Rusper is hiding a surprising secret: it is home to a new breed of investment entrepreneurs, the so-called Wolves of West Sussex.

A study reveals that the villagers, who number just over 1,400, clocked up more hours playing the stock market online than anywhere else in the UK in the past year.

The survey by trading tips website TradingView found that the average Rusper resident notched up 19 hours in the past 12 months. 

But behind the neatly trimmed hedges and Farrow & Ball-painted front doors, Rusper is hiding a surprising secret: it is home to a new breed of investment entrepreneurs, the so-called Wolves of West Sussex

In second place were the canny folk of Burnham in Buckinghamshire (11 hours), followed by Blaby, Leicestershire (8 1/2 hours), whose residents may have picked up tips from former Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson, their MP for 18 years.

In comparison, Londoners spent only four hours trading online and Bristol residents just three hours and 15 minutes.

TradingView's James Maddison said: 'This tiny village blew away the rest of the rankings. More people than ever are getting involved buying all sorts of assets in the hopes of turning a profit.'

Rusper is a far cry from the world of The Wolf Of Wall Street, the Leonardo DiCaprio movie about the excesses of New York financiers.

It began as a small settlement of Benedictine nuns in a remote part of the Weald in the early 13th Century. Near Gatwick and less than 30 miles from Central London, it's now a haven for stressed City workers.

But its No 1 position is not down to a few big hitters. Mr Maddison said: 'There may be some City traders living in Rusper as it's in the stockbroker belt, but 99 per cent of our users aren't institutional investors, they're self-starters.

The survey by trading tips website TradingView found that the average Rusper resident notched up 19 hours in the past 12 months

'Our data shows the district has been most interested in shares in Netflix, Bitcoin and Apple – not exactly the calling card of the old-guard institutional types.'

These have proved fruitful choices as the three assets have averaged a 180 per cent increase in value since the start of the year.

Our financial whizz's verdict

Hats off to the shrewd folk of Rusper! They've clearly made splendid profits from firms and assets that have best withstood the pandemic.

These include gold (everyone's friend in a global crisis), healthcare stocks and technology companies.

Also, by showing great foresight ahead of Boris Johnson's Green Revolution, they cleverly invested in hydrocarbon. Bravely, too, they took a punt on Bitcoin as its price soared (I admit I wouldn't have had the courage!).

Above all, this story highlights the empowerment given to investors by the internet. Web-based share and investment fund platforms mean we can choose any kind of assets and companies from all over the world – from our kitchen table.

My message to Rusper – and all other investors – is 'diversify, diversify and diversify again' and keep adding to your Isas and pensions. It's a super way of building long-term wealth. 

Gold and currencies were also in the top ten of share prices watched in Rusper. Amazon, Tesla and Facebook were also popular.

Rusper resident Mary Mills, 65, admitted her family 'dabbled' but like any canny investor, is reluctant to give too much away.

She said: 'We run a farm but we have some investments, mainly pharmaceuticals. 

'We keep an eye on the internet to make sure things are going well.'

Carol Boughton, who teaches Pilates in the village hall, said: 'I'm not surprised by the survey, but I doubt you will find many people willing to talk about it.

'People in Sussex like to conduct their business quietly. 

'They are not brash with their wealth. They do it in style.'

The average house price in Rusper is £600,000, with many larger properties worth more than £1 million.

Kosta Kouvkoulos, originally from Corfu, has been landlord of the Star pub for 16 years.

He said: 'There are lots of big houses in the area and people who do well for themselves, but they are not show-offs.'

TradingView compiled its data using Google Analytics from January to this month, calculating the average number of online sessions per area, and average duration of session per user.

The company was so impressed by Rusper that it has offered the entire village free premium accounts for life.