LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chastened by the financial crisis in 2008 and uncertain about the economy in 2012, individual investors in the United Kingdom are unwilling to sacrifice security for return; yet they are well attuned to risk, with 86 percent saying they understood the risk in their portfolios at some level.
Those are some of the results of a survey of 795 individual investors in the UK with at least £100,000 of investable assets; the survey was conducted by Natixis Global Asset Management.
The survey results highlight increasing uncertainty amongst individual investors as 2011 draws to a close. With Europe teetering on an economic slowdown, nearly one third are very concerned about the prospects of slow economic growth and a double-dip recession in the UK. That concern has obscured the basic risk-reward tradeoff of any investment, with 84 percent agreeing with the statement, “the more risk I take, the more I could lose.”
And while more than half, or 53 percent, of all respondents say the most important thing is for their investments to stay stable in volatile times, only four percent are “very interested” in alternative investment products that were uncorrelated to the broader markets, while 24 percent say they are “not at all interested” in such products.
“The financial crisis has left an indelible mark on investors, and many are now more actively monitoring, managing and seeking to mitigate risk in their portfolios,” said John Hailer, president and chief executive officer of Natixis Global Asset Management, U.S. and Asia. “But the pendulum may have swung too far in terms of risk aversion, causing individual investors to shun investment options that are designed to grow portfolios while minimising risk in volatile environments.”
“More education is clearly needed on alternatives,” continued Hailer. “The lack of knowledge about risk-mitigating solutions amongst individual investors creates a tremendous opportunity for wealth managers to explain how alternative investments can complement traditional holdings, help to hedge portfolios against market volatility in 2012 and contribute to more robust, durable portfolios.”
Indeed, the survey shows that individual investors are reluctant to adjust their portfolio to provide new sources of diversification in these turbulent times. While more than 70 percent of respondents said they understood that diversification lowered risks, slightly more than half of all invested assets were held in just three asset categories, with 21 percent in relatively passive investments, 15 percent in real estate properties and 15 percent in money market products or savings accounts.
The survey results also throw into sharp relief the lack of knowledge about, and reticence to invest in, alternative investments that can minimise risk and provide less correlated returns. According to the results:
- Most individual investors (66 percent) have little, if any, knowledge of alternatives and 43 percent said they “have no idea of what alternatives are.”
- Even though alternative investments are playing a growing role in sophisticated portfolios, less than one in five respondents (18 percent) with more than £1 million of investable assets said they understood alternative investments “very well,” while more than half (53 percent) of those with £1 million or more of investable assets conceded they had very little, if any, understanding of alternatives.
- Insufficient information is the biggest barrier to considering alternative investments, with more than one-third (37 percent) saying they don’t know enough about them. Risk is another big factor, with 28 percent conceding they are “too risky.” Concerns about performance and high fees are also significant hurdles, with 28 and 19 percent of individual investors, respectively, identifying them as barriers.
Notwithstanding these obstacles, a significant number of individual investors indicated they were willing to use alternatives, with 22 percent saying alternatives can replace traditional investments. More than 29 percent say they would be willing to allocate between one and ten percent of their portfolios to alternative investments.
The Natixis Global Asset Management U.K. Investor Insights Survey was conducted by CoreData Research and surveyed 795 adults to better understand their attitudes, behavior and sentiment in today’s investment environment. The survey was conducted in June and November of 2011.
About Natixis Global Asset Management
Natixis Global Asset Management is one of the 15 largest asset managers in the world based on assets under management.1 Its affiliated asset management companies provide investment products that seek to enhance and protect the wealth and retirement assets of both institutional and individual investor clients. Its proprietary distribution network helps package and deliver its affiliates’ products around the world. Natixis Global Asset Management brings together the expertise of multiple specialized investment managers based in Europe, the United States and Asia to offer a wide spectrum of equity, fixed-income and alternative investment strategies.
Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Global Asset Management’s assets under management are €525 billion as of September 30, 2011. Natixis Global Asset Management is part of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Global Asset Management’s affiliated investment management firms and distribution and service groups include Absolute Asia Asset Management; AEW Capital Management; AEW Europe; AlphaSimplex Group; Aurora Investment Management; Capital Growth Management; Caspian Capital Management; Darius Capital Partners; Gateway Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management; Hansberger Global Investors; Harris Associates; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Natixis Asset Management; Natixis Global Associates; Natixis Multimanager; Ossiam; Reich & Tang Asset Management; Snyder Capital Management; and Vaughan Nelson Investment Management.
1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2011, based on December 31, 2010 AUM of $713 billion.