A third of investors are confident despite Covid-19
Around a third of investors are confident during the Covid-19 pandemic despite the uncertainty it has caused, new research has found.
An independent survey commissioned by HYCM, an online provider of forex and contracts for difference (CFDs) trading services for both retail and institutional traders, has found that 36 per cent of investors are confident in the way they are managing their finances at present.
And looking to the future, 31 per cent believe they will emerge from the coronavirus pandemic in a stronger financial position.
Yet the same number (31 per cent) are also making more short-term financial decisions given the difficultly of effectively planning for the future.
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Additionally, 30 per cent of all investors said Covid-19 has radically changed their finance and investment strategies for the current financial year.
A third (33 per cent) of all investors plan to put more money into their savings accounts over the coming 12 months and 22 per cent are planning to buy more stocks and shares.
The most common asset classes during the coronavirus are cash savings (73 per cent), private pensions (51 per cent) and stocks and shares (44 per cent).
The least common types of asset classes were cryptocurrencies (20 per cent), classic cars (21 per cent) and social impact investments (22 per cent).
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“The volatile trading conditions spurred on by Covid-19 clearly has some investors worried,” said Giles Coghlan, chief currency analyst at HYCM.
“Even with interest rates at a historic low of 0.10 per cent, the majority are looking to the low-risk option of cash savings.”
“That said, despite the initial losses suffered on the FTSE as a result of Covid-19, a significant proportion of investors are also considering stocks and shares in the months ahead.
“Looking to the future, the market sentiment shows some sort of optimism among many investors that they will be able to weather the current challenge, though this might require making more short-term investment decisions.
“With markets slowly recovering, new opportunities are presenting themselves. The challenge, though, is for investors to still work towards long-term financial objectives even when there is so much uncertainty around us.”
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