Investor confidence slips in 2010: IFSA
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Investor confidence has fallen in the first quarter of 2010, but it still remains in positive territory, according to the latest CoreData Investor Sentiment Index released by the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA).
Investor confidence fell from +7.4 at the end of 2009 to +2.9 after three consecutive interest rate rises, according to IFSA.
“While investor sentiment remains in positive territory, it’s fair to say that people are exhibiting feelings of great uncertainty,” said IFSA chief executive John Brogden.
“People believe they are getting mixed messages about the strength of the economy and what lies ahead. Despite this, a third of survey respondents indicated they intend to purchase a new investment product or invest money directly in new equities over the next quarter,” he added.
“This survey shows that experienced investors are the most likely to be looking for new opportunities and around 80 per cent of investors say they will maintain their level of super contributions, with a third saying they will continue to salary sacrifice to top up their super savings,” Brogden said.
The decline was unexpected given the markets have continued an upward trajectory since the end of 2009, according to CoreData analyst Kristen Paech.
“The results indicate that investors are cautious about the sustainability of the current pace of economic growth. The reluctance to invest new money could well be the result of mortgage pressure on cash flow resulting from the consecutive rate rises,” Paech said.
The results also showed that half of investors expect the economy to speed up in the next quarter, while a third expect it to slow down. Half of investors also expect business conditions to improve over the coming quarter. Dissatisfaction with financial planners has increased to 10.4 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
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