Aussie investor confidence grows

investor confidence

Relevant offers

Market Data

Euro falls, shares retreat on Greek fears Stocks swing on euro zone headlines NZ dollar up on strong retail spending Stocks slip with profit taking Markets retreat as Greeks scramble for cash Stocks slip after Mainfreight result Kiwi falls on European downgrades Stocks gain on Greek vote; euro dips Greek deal fans risk asset buying Finance and business diary

Investor confidence improved for a third straight quarter in the three months to December, having slumped in the first few months of this year, a new report released on today showed.

The Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA)-CoreData Investor Sentiment Index was 7.4 per cent in the December quarter, building on the 5.0 percent result in the September quarter.

The index, which stood at minus 22.3 percent in the March quarter, has seen close to a 30 point turnaround within a year.

The proportion of investors that believe financial markets will improve in the next three months has also jumped to 53.7 percent, up from just 10.1 percent in the March quarter.

"Most of the households survey are optimistic about their future financial position," IFSA CEO John Brogden said releasing the survey.

Just 18.8 percent expect it to be worse.

Mr Brogden said another "encouraging sign" was that 38 percent of 850 respondents in the online survey are making additional contributions to their superannuation.

Three quarters of respondents expect to keep their contributions the same next year while 16.5 percent expect to make additional savings.

CoreData partner Craig Phillips said investors are "slowly but surely" regaining their confidence in investment markets.

"The mental scars of the financial crisis remain on people's minds which explains the tentative steps being taken," Mr Phillips said.

He said rebuilding confidence will be a slow process in light of events over the past two years.

"As we move into 2010, barring any major shocks to the system, we expect confidence to continue its ascent as investors adjust their expectations and risk tolerances to the changed environment."

- AAP