Asians tagged as world’s most aggressive investors in 2014

7 in 10 intend to invest in equities.

Asians are the most aggressive investors in the world and are the most bullish on equities in 2014, according to a comprehensive new global report on investor sentiment by Schroders. Almost three-quarters (74%) of survey respondents from Asia intend to invest in equities – a slight 3% drop from last year – versus 70% of their global peers.

Investors in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are the most optimistic, with 88%, 86% and 81% of them, respectively, planning to invest in stocks this year.

They also top the list for having the highest confidence in local equities – 66% of Hong Kong investors believe Hong Kong equities will be the best performer, while 55% of Taiwan and Singapore investors, respectively, think their local stocks will deliver the best returns. On average, 45% of investors in Asia believe their home market equities will outperform, versus the global average of 41%.

When asked to compare with last year, investors in India (90%), Thailand (83%), Indonesia (76%) and Japan (76%) have expressed the highest confidence in investment opportunities in the year ahead. 

The regional average was 66% – up 7% from 2013 – compared to 56% globally.This also explains their high risk appetite. Investors in Thailand plan to allocate 37% of their investments in high risk assets, followed by Indonesians (32%) and Hong Kong investors (28%).

On average, Asian investors are the most risk tolerant. Asians plan to put 25% of their investments in high risk assets, versus the global average of 20%.

Despite improvements in sentiment, Asian investors still named economic uncertainty on both global (24%) and local (22%) levels as their top concerns for this year, behind rising inflation (30%). In addition, 21% of Asian investors worry about tax increases and a property market crash, while 16% of them expect their salary to remain static this year.

Like a majority of investors in the world, nearly 40% of Asian investors said saving for retirement is their top investment goal and 36% said is for emergency use. But unlike their global peers, 27% said their investment is for protecting against rising inflation.

These issues combined may explain why gold and bonds are the second and third most popular investments amongst Asian investors in 2014, with 22% and 21% of survey respondents planning to invest in these asset classes, respectively.