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Experienced Investor

Investor sentiment reaches lowest level in years

Lucinda Beeman
Written By:
Lucinda Beeman
Posted:
Updated:
20/08/2014

Investor sentiment has fallen to some of its lowest levels in two years as the FTSE 100 faces strong headwinds.

According to the latest Halifax Share Dealing Market Trader two fifths of retail investors felt their portfolio had decreased in value over the past six months, meaning that more investors’ portfolios are falling rather than growing for the first time since 2012. Just one third of investors felt their portfolio was growing in value.

Optimism for the outlook of the FTSE has also decreased in the long term, medium term and short term. Just 37.9 per cent of investors think the FTSE will be higher in six months’ time, compared with 45.9 per cent who thought so in June.

Financial services is still the widest held sector amongst investors, but energy and mining is the sector where most investors will be looking to invest. Just over half of retail investors say they will be looking to add these stocks to their portfolio in the next six months.

Damian Stansfield, managing director of Halifax Share Dealing, said: “With the FTSE 100 experiencing a number of headwinds in the past month, it’s a sensible idea for investors in individual stocks to regularly review their holdings and ensure they remain comfortable with their portfolio. All individual sectors are different and there is no substitute for research; as ever, past performance alone is not a reliable indicator of future performance.”