Investor sentiment falls to a record low
Investor sentiment has fallen to a record low, with investors now less confident about the markets than they were during the global financial crisis (GFC).
CoreData's Investor Sentiment Index for the last quarter of 2011 revealed a confidence rating of -22.4 - slightly lower than in the first quarter of 2009, when confidence sat at -22.3.
This is also the lowest point for investor sentiment in the history of the index, which was established in 2005.
"The continued slide in sentiment we've seen since the beginning of 2011 is reflective of the turmoil in Europe and concerns about how this might impact the investment landscape in Australia," said CoreData's head of advice, wealth and super Kristen Turnbull.
However, for the first time since the GFC, there are more investors who thought cash would perform worse (29 per cent versus 25 per cent).
Despite this, cash remains the most popular asset class for investors to rebalance to.
Sentiment towards equities has improved in the last quarter, but remains in negative territory, the report has found.
The Sentiment Index also revealed two in five Australian households were financially worse off than they were 12 months ago.
CoreData's survey had 843 respondents and was carried out between 19 November and 5 December, 2011.
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