Despite market volatility, undervalued Australian equities have presented favourable buying opportunities when active management has been applied, a survey conducted at the recent Legg Mason Investment Symposium has shown.
The survey was conducted with 120 investment professionals including asset consultants, research house analysts, institutional investors, financial advisers and fund managers.
Findings revealed that 35 per cent of respondents believed the downturn represented a great buying opportunity, with more than half the participants saying Australian equities were undervalued.
While investors had become wary due to recent market volatility, 45 per cent of respondents believed recent market falls were a short-term correction.
"This volatility also presents a strong case for active management to take advantage of price movements," Legg Mason Australia head Annalisa Clark said.
Recent market volatility had also affected investors' view of the fixed-income market, with 80 per cent of respondents believing it was time to move from a passive to an active fixed-income strategy.
"There has been a major shift in attitudes towards active fixed-income management in response to the European debt crisis," Clark said.
"With investors still uncertain on short and long-term implications of rising sovereign debt levels, managers of fixed-income portfolios have to be flexible and responsive to rapid changes in the market."
The survey showed that respondents believed emerging markets would provide better opportunities than developed markets as the global economy recovered.
Clarke said a push towards socially responsible investing was also on the cards as it was becoming a global trend, with Australian investors likely to follow suit.
