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Investor confidence at highest since level since 2007

By Jessica Tasman-Jones

Almost 60% of high net worth investors feel bullish about the investment outlook over the next 12 months, according to a new survey, the highest confidence has been since the global economic crash of 2008.

Financial advisory company deVere Group said the number of investors who reported feeling bullish was up four percentage points from its 2013 poll to 57%.

The last time investor confidence levels were higher than this level was in 2007, when 59% of high net worth investors said they were feeling bullish in the annual international poll.

This year’s survey also found 77% are “committed to investing more over the 12 months”.

DeVere Group chief executive Nigel Green says: “The overarching upbeat sentiment is, I suspect, as a result of the eurozone returning to growth, the US economy performing strongly even with quantitative easing being tapered, and the UK’s potential of reaching 3% GDP growth this year, amongst other key factors.”

Tom Elliot, the Group’s international investment strategist, adds: “The eurozone is recovering, yet it remains unbalanced, as it is led by the core northern economies. That said, we are seeing progress on the structural reforms that the peripheral southern countries need to make in order to regain competitiveness.”

Elliot says there are still concerns about whether the economic recovery in the US and the UK is based on a real estate boom, and not investment. He also questions whether China can deliver its anticipated growth rate of 7.5%, given the level of commercial debt on its books.

In spite of this, Elliot says there’s “no doubt” the world looks a safer place for high net worth investors than it did a year ago.

The surveyed polled 756 clients with investible assets above £1 million (€1.2 million) across the US, the UK, Asia, the Middle East and South Africa.

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