Confidence in the global economy is increasing according to a survey of financial advisers around the world.
They are, on average, 10% more confident about the global economy than they were in Q4 2011, according to Skandia International.
Previous confidence levels averaged 5 to 5.5 out of 10. Skandia’s survey also indicated advisers were slightly more upbeat about their local economies with confidence levels increasing from 5.3 to 5.6 over the last quarter.
The exception is in Europe, where advisers are still downbeat about the region, though more optimistic about the global outlook.
Financial advisers in Asia remain the most confident in their local economies with an average score of 6.6, with respondents from both Hong Kong and Singapore having the most positive outlook, reporting a confidence level of 6.7 out of 10.
Less than 1% of advisers believe that European equities (ex UK) will offer favourable returns despite the strong run seen by the asset class during the first three months of this year, returning 9.75% over that period.
Skandia’s offshore adviser confidence barometer covers Q1 2012 and attracted responses from 445 advisers.
©2012 funds europe
