The coronavirus pandemic has sent financial markets into meltdown but some investors around the world are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
Global wealth manager UBS carried out its quarterly investor sentiment survey of 4,108 wealthy savers and business owners in 14 markets.
It found 70% of respondents are optimistic about the long-term economic outlook for their region, virtually unchanged from the survey three months prior.
Unsurprisingly, there was a drop in the number of respondents feeling upbeat about the short-term outlook, however, with under half (46%) optimistic down from 67% in the previous survey.
Stocks
Globally, 47% of investors expect to keep their stock market investments the same in the next six months, while 37% plan to invest more.
Additionally, 23% believe now is a good time to buy stocks, and another 61% see an opportunity to buy if stocks fall another 5-20%.
Paula Polito, divisional vice chairman at UBS Global Wealth Management, said: “Some 96% of investors worldwide say covid-19 has affected their lifestyle in some way, with more than half mentioning practicing social distancing, avoiding crowds, and refraining from travel.
“However, they have diverging views on when the worst of the crisis will be over, with a third citing by the end of June, a third citing the fall and a third citing the end of the year or beyond.”
Methodology
UBS surveyed 2,928 investors and 1,180 business owners with at least $1m (£803,650, €922,510) in investable assets (for investors) or at least $1m in annual revenue and at least one employee other than themselves (for business owners), between 1 and 20 April 2020.
The sample was split across 14 markets: Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK and the US.
