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SINGAPORE (Feb 8): Singapore retail investors have become more pessimistic about the investment outlook over the past six months and are shunning the US and Europe in favour of safe haven investments closer to home, a poll released on Tuesday showed.
The JP Morgan Investor Confidence Index, taken every six months, stands at 86, the lowest since it was launched a year ago. An index level of 100 is neutral, while 200 is extremely optimistic and zero is extremely pessimistic.
The index has fallen from a reading of 121 in July last year and 134 in December 2010, when it was launched.
"The trend has been a flight to quality and to safe haven investments such as deposits and bond funds that are generally less volatile than equity funds," Brian Tan, JP Morgan Asset Management's head of retail sales, said in a statement.
"We expect it will be more of the same in the coming months although we think investors should diversify and also invest in riskier assets given the attractive valuations."
Singapore's trade-driven economy contracted in the last three months of 2011, signalling it may slip into a technical recession as a slump in manufacturing output and a slowdown in external demand hurt exports.
The online polls are part of a series of regional polls by the fund management arm of JP Morgan in Asia. The Singapore poll sampled 502 investors with an annual personal income of more than S$60,000 (RM144,900) and at least five years investment experience.
The survey found Singapore remained the favourite investment destination among the respondents over the next six months, followed by Asian regional markets and real estate as more investors shun the US and Europe due to perceived higher risks.
Singapore has announced new measures to cool the city-state's residential housing market, which has held up well despite a slowing economy, helped by low interest rates and rising demand from overseas investors. — Reuters
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