Ongoing concerns about government debt in the United States and Europe has led to a slight drop in institutional investor confidence during April.
The State Street Investor Confidence Index dropped from 97.3 to 97.0 due to the falling confidence of North American investors, who posted a decline of 3.9 points down to 98.4.
Other regions were more upbeat, with Europe posting an increased confidence rating of 73.2, up from 66.9 from March.
Harvard University professor Kenneth Froot, who helped design the index, said it showed that institutional investors have shifted into a neutral risk gear.
“Recent signals suggesting that US growth expectations for the first quarter may be trimmed, coupled with ongoing concerns about the resolution of fiscal deficits in both the US and Europe, have dampened enthusiasm for further equity risk allocations,” Froot said.
Meanwhile, he said inflows into emerging markets have tapered off to a degree from the robust levels seen over recent months.
“Though flows into emerging markets, particularly emerging Asia, remain positive, they are no longer sufficient to outweigh the modest but persistent selling of developed markets equities that we have observed,” he said.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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