Institutional investors are less confident this month, according to the State Street Investor Confidence Index.
Global investor confidence fell by 7.7 points to a level of 74.3, from last month’s revised reading of 82.0. North American investors were the key drivers of this decline, as their confidence fell from 90.4 to its second lowest reading ever of 78.9.
In other regions, risk appetitive remained broadly unchanged, with European investors recording a small decline of 0.9 points to 84.0, and Asian investors recording a small increase of 0.8 points to 86.9.
“The underlying data produced by State Street Associates shows that U.S. investors have reduced their allocations to equities, particularly in the emerging markets, but also in the U.S.,” says State Street Associates director Paul O’Connell.
The index measures investor confidence on a quantitative basis, analyzing actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. The more institutional investors are willing to devote to equities in their portfolio, the greater their confidence.
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