A Financial Markets Authority (FMA) survey shows most of those questioned would less than a day when choosing where to invest $10,000, while a fifth would make their decision in an hour or less.
The FMA polled 1028 people to learn how switched-on they are about personal financial investments.
FMA primary markets and investor resources head Simone Robbers said the authority thought people would have spent more time planning where to put their lump sums.
The survey also showed people are confused about whether investments are guaranteed or not, with 52 percent believing term deposits come with a guarantee and 42 percent that KiwiSaver comes with an assurance.
However, a guarantee was not provided by either the Government or the providers, Ms Robbers said.
The Colmar Brunton survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
