Investor sentiment shoots up
The steep rise by Australian equities in the last few months has driven investor sentiment into positive territory for the first time in almost two years, according to CoreData's Investor Equities Sentiment Index.
CoreData's survey is showing a rebound in sentiment, which currently sits at 11 — an increase from -4.9 in the last quarter of 2012.
Close to half of respondents believe that equities will outperform the property market over the coming quarter, and that the market for direct Australian equities would be better for investors in the coming months.
However, the increase in optimism is not likely to translate to actual investments, said Salvador Saiz, head of advice, wealth and super at CoreData.
"While Australians may feel more positive about the market outlook over the next three months, they're still not willing to put their hand in their pocket to allocate substantially to equities, with the index showing investment intention remains low (-19.6 versus -20.2 in Q4 2012)," Saiz said.
"In other words, investors remain cautious and may need yet another quarter or so of positive momentum in equity markets before they make such a move."
More than half of survey respondents (56.4 per cent) described themselves as conservative or very conservative, while only 11 per cent described themselves as risk-takers.
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