Investor confidence rallies from rock bottom
Emma Wall, head of investment Analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Investor confidence has jumped this month, but before you get too optimistic about the outlook it is worth noting the context. September was the worst month on record for investor confidence – hitting the lowest score since HL started tracking Investors’ Confidence in May 1995. The next lowest score was in December 2018, with a score of 52, reflecting the market turmoil of the time, caused by then US President Donald Trump threatening war with China.
This month, the confidence index sits at 58, up 14 months on September, but still a dreary indication of sentiment. It is hardly surprising UK investors are feeling glum. The cost-of-living crisis is even more acute – and those hoping for a political knight on a white horse have been sorely disappointed. We have been treated to not one but two non-budgets in the last month, the first of which wiped billions of the value of our pension savings, and the second secured political paralysis for the current government. At the time of writing, Liz Truss remains prime minister, but the rumour mill is swirling in Westminster and the forecast is not stable. So, what have investors been buying against this cataclysmic backdrop? The answer is threefold: cash in the form of money market funds, which is one of the few half-stable asset classes in current times; energy funds – both those invested in renewables and fossil fuels, as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to create energy uncertainty; and income funds because although share prices have been falling, dividends remain largely intact – for now.”
Investors’ Confidence
Global Sectors
Investor confidence index
The investor confidence index is compiled by surveying HL clients on a monthly basis. Each month we send the investors’ confidence survey to 6,000 random clients and there is a representative split of our clients by age. On average around 10% of clients respond.
Data from HL’s platform
| Top Funds, October (net buys, alphabetical) |
| abrdn Sterling Money Market |
| Artemis Global Income |
| BlackRock Global World Energy |
| Fidelity Allocator World |
| Fidelity Global Dividend |
| FSSA Greater China Growth |
| Odey Swan (Long/Short) |
| Royal London Short Term Money Market |
| TB Guinness Global Energy |
| Troy Trojan |
| Top Investment Trusts, October (net buys, alphabetical) |
| 3i Group Plc Ordinary 73 19/22p |
| 3i Infrastructure plc Ord NPV |
| BH Macro Ltd (GBP) Ord NPV |
| City Of London Investment Trust Ordinary 25p Shares |
| Greencoat UK Wind plc Ordinary 1p |
| Harbourvest Global Private Equity Ordinary Shares |
| Impax Environmental Markets plc Ordinary 10p |
| JPMorgan Global Growth & Income plc Ordinary 5p |
| Merchants Trust plc Ordinary 25p |
| The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited Ordinary Shares NPV |
