The confidence of Australian investors in the Australian economy and their investing environment has improved significantly since the end of last year, according to the latest TD Waterhouse Investor Sentiment Survey.
The third TD Waterhouse Investor Sentiment Survey conducted in January, gauging the investor sentiment of TD Waterhouse customers, found investors are now more confident about the performance of the Australian share market and economy.
The survey found 49 per cent of investors expect the Australian economy to improve in the next 12 months, up from 26 per cent in the previous survey conducted last October.
The expectations for the Australian share market in the next 12 months also recorded a strong improvement in investor confidence, up from 33 per cent last October to 65 per cent.
TD Waterhouse managing director Karen Buck says the survey results show positive investor sentiment is evident since the previous October 2001 survey, which was released soon after the September 11 terrorist strikes in the United States.
“The result we have now is a much more assertive vote of confidence in the Australian economy and the Australian share market,” Buck says.
The survey found Australian investors believed the biggest threat to the economy in the next three months would come from overseas, with 28 per cent identifying the US economy and 23 per cent the global economy.
“To the extent that some of our customers have identified concerns about the US and global economies, most clearly believe that the Australian economy and Australian share market are in good shape,” Buck says.
The survey also found 76 per cent of TD Waterhouse customers expect the performance of their share portfolio to improve over the next 12 months and 71 per cent expect the performance of their managed fund investments to improve in the same period.
