Investor confidence declines in April
The State Street Global Markets Global Investor Confidence Index (ICI) has decreased 1.5 points to 92.7 from March’s revised reading of 94.2, driven by drops in North America and Asia.
The North American ICI fell to 92.2 from 94.8 and the Asian ICI fell to 91.8 from 92.9; however, Europe saw a three point increase to 94.3.
Rajeev Bhargava, head of investor behaviour research at State Street Associates, said investor risk appetite remained largely in a holding pattern in April with the global index declining just over one point, the smallest change in over six months.
“While investor confidence in the US and Asia contracted slightly, this was largely offset by a rise in sentiment from European Investors, where improving vaccine procurement numbers and more timely member state vaccination rollout targets may have fuelled some much needed optimism in the region,” Bhargava said.
The index was developed to measure investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analysing the buying and selling patterns of institutional investors and was done in partnership with FDO Partners.
The greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher risk appetite or confidence; a score of 100 was neutral.
AUTHOR
Chris Dastoor
Recommended for you
A growing trend of factor investing in ETFs has seen the rise of smart beta or factor ETFs, but Stockspot has warned that these funds likely won’t deliver as expected and could cost investors more long-term.
ASIC has released a new regulatory guide for exchange-traded products (ETPs), including ETFs, on the back of significant growth in the market.
Assets in Macquarie Asset Management’s active ETFs have tripled to $2 billion in the last six months, helping the division deliver a net profit contribution of $1.1 billion.
With property becoming increasingly out of reach for young Australia, Vanguard has proposed a tax-incentivised scheme to help cash-heavy individuals build wealth.
