Wealthy individuals in the US are increasingly showing interest in investing, according to a survey by UBS Global Wealth Management.
Its quarterly Investor Sentiment report polled over 3,800 high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs in 17 countries, and shows a growing positive attitude towards investing.
Nearly four-in-10 high net worth Americans (37%) expressed an intention to invest more in the markets, up strongly from 26% in the previous quarter.
The sentiment on US stocks remains positive, but there was a drop in the number of optimistic investors to 53% from 57%.
“We are pleased to see a substantial increase in investors willing to put more money in the market,” said Filippo Ilardi, US client strategy officer at UBS Global WM.
With 50% of US investors viewing a diversified portfolio as a hedge against US-China spats, Ilardi added: “Wealthy Americans are concerned about the political environment and the US-China trade tensions but we are encouraged that they see diversification as an important way of managing some of these risks.”
Signs of improvement
Overall, 41% of US investors were optimistic about the global economy – up from 37% in Q1.
Pessimism remained relatively stable, however, moving to 30% from 31% in the previous quarter.
“We believe US investors are right to be positive on the US stock market outlook, and we retain an overweight position in US equities in our US client portfolios, although returns for the balance of the year are apt to be more modest given the impressive run for stocks during the first half,” said Mike Ryan, Americas chief investment officer at UBS Global WM.
“We are also likely to see periodic bouts of volatility as investors contend with ongoing trade tension and heightened expectations for Fed rate cuts.”
