NZ investors most pessimistic, conservative in Asia-Pacific

22 per cent of NZ's wealthy investors expect the local share market to rise this quarter.

There's been a slight improvement in the sentiments of New Zealand's investors, but they remain the most pessimistic in the Asia Pacific region, says investment firm ING.

Private investors here are also the most conservative, with protecting their capital a top priority, according to the latest "Investor Sentiment Index".

The index shows that opinions among New Zealand's wealthy investors are slightly more optimistic than in the last few months of 2008, when the index fell 35 per cent.

Sentiment across the region was up 16 per cent to 85 out of 200, due mainly, says ING to a "strong rally in confidence in China and India".

Despite that, nine of the 13 markets surveyed were still pessimistic.
The latest survey was conducted in March 2009 and involved online interviews with a total of 1,347 "affluent investors" across the 13 Asia Pacific markets. The respondents are aged 30 years and above, and have disposable assets or investments of US$100,000 and above.

New Zealand investors are evenly divided between 48 per cent who think the economic situation will deteriorate further in the second quarter of this year and the rest who believe it will improve or stay the same

Seen over a year, local investor sentiment index is down 26 per cent.

Of those investors surveyed, 22 per cent of the New Zealanders expected the stock market to rise this quarter, up from 17 per cent last quarter. 52 per cent though it would keep falling.

This is a slightly less gloomy perspective than across the Tasman, where 62 per cent of Australian investors expect to see the market fall further in the second quarter of this year.

New Zealanders remain the most conservative investors in the region with 54 per cent taking a longer term investment strategy, said ING, with capital preservation the priority, compared to 43 per cent of Australian investors with such a conservative strategy.

Asked whether New Zealand investors had seen a return on investment in the last quarter, 8 per cent say they saw returns increase, while 69 per cent say they fell.

Looking ahead into 2009, 46 per cent expect to see a decrease in their investment returns, while 18 per cent feel they will see an increase.

When it comes to investment intentions for the next few months, 39 per cent of New Zealand investors said they would invest more and keep more cash.
Another 55 per cent have not yet decided what to do with their investment. Only 6 per cent (the lowest in the region) will invest more.

Residential real estate is popular, with 63 per cent of New Zealand investors surveyed are currently holding investments in this class (besides their own domestic property.


- HERALD ONLINE