Confidence now stands at 6.1 out of 10 compared to 5.8 in the previous quarter and 5.6 in the third quarter of last year.
Advisers are also more confident about their local economy, rating it 6.5 out of 10, against 6.2 in the second quarter of 2013 and 5.5 in third quarter of last year.
Asian advisers are the most confident about the global economy, at 6.4 out of 10 and even more so in their local economy with a rating of 6.8 out of ten.
By contrast, advisers based in Europe were the least confident about their local economy.
In overall terms, advisers see global contagion as their biggest economic threat (16%) followed by political instability (15%) and inflation (14%).
But within different regions the results varied, with the UK and Europe stating that the European debt crisis was their biggest economic threat.
The Skandia survey also reported that the biggest challenge to doing business over the next 12 months is regulatory requirements (32%), followed by market volatility (25%) and low confidence (18%).
In the Middle East however, market volatility was considered to be the biggest challenge.
The quarterly international adviser confidence barometer was conducted by Skandia International, part of Old Mutual Wealth, in the third quarter of 2013. The survey began in Q1 2012.
To read the results from the last quarter, click here.
