Asian investors say they will increase their investments by an average of 5.5% in the next 12 months, while investors in Europe will raise theirs just 1%, according to a survey commissioned by Schroders.
Asian investors are significantly more bullish about their home economies than their peers in Europe. More than half of Asians surveyed said they favoured investing in the Asia-Pacific region, while just 12% of investors in Europe and the Middle East said they thought western European countries offered good investment prospects.
The survey also identified a bias towards stocks over bonds. More than two-thirds of participants said they planned to invest in equities in 2013; only a quarter said they planned to invest in fixed income.
“What is clear is that investors are intending to return to the market in greater numbers this year and see opportunities for growth, notably in equities,” says Massimo Tosato, executive vice chairman, Schroders. “With this growing investment appetite and the desire to seek financial advice, we believe 2013 could be the watershed year in the journey back to a more robust global investment environment.”
It remains to be seen whether investors’ behaviour matches their intentions. Analysts have talked before of a switch from bonds to equities, but data does not yet support this view. Net inflows into bond funds rose by more than half in March, compared with the previous month, to €17.3 billion, according to data provider Lipper. Meanwhile, net inflows into equity funds fell by more than 40% to €5.6 billion during the month.
©2013 funds europe
