The Certitude Global Investing Intentional Index found October marked a period of high concern from active investors about overseas assets, the highest the index has been since August 2013.
Certitude Global Investments chief executive Craig Mowll said this showed volatile market conditions have created “uncertainty and some degree of caution” in the minds of many active investors.
“What was also noticeable was the fact that high net worth investors were clearly unconcerned about long-term fundamentals, and instead seized the opportunity of increasing their exposure while prices were momentarily depressed,” Mr Mowll said.
Mr Mowll also pointed out that investor interest in equities dropped four per cent in October, which he said was a response to “volatility in international markets”.
“When investors were asked what was currently stopping them from investing more in overseas markets, 25 per cent cited market volatility, up from only 17 per cent in September,” he said.
“What is worth noting, however, is that at the same time that demand for equities dropped, demand for alternative asset classes, such as private equity funds, hedge funds, infrastructure and commodities all increased,” he said.
“This was clearly a case of investors looking to mitigate portfolio risk by choosing asset classes with low correlation to equity markets."
