A YouGov survey of more than 1,5000 investors with over £10,000 in equity investments found that 72 per cent believe that current market conditions are improving, though 23 per cent still feel that the market is unstable. Only 2 per cent believe that the investment market has already peaked.

Sheridan Admans, investment research manager at The Share Centre, said: “At long last, positive news is coming thick and fast and this is now backed up by company results. The market has showed continuing signs of confidence and the flurry of IPOs available to personal investors is testament to this. Alongside this, industry consensus is that the average earnings per share will rise 6.3 per cent in 2014.”

Utilities is the sector of choice for more than a fifth of ISA investors. According to The Share Centre Profit Watch report, year-on-year profits for the sector have risen 23.7 per cent in the last 12 months.

Technology, The Share Centre’s preferred market segment, came in a close second with investors.

Admans said: “The sector tends to be dominated by many smaller companies and little is offered by the way of yield. However the smaller companies in the sector tend to be more dynamic as they are closely related to the ever evolving technology sector. The huge variety of software services and IT solutions provided by the sector means that companies are not necessarily competing with each other, but build out a niche segment for themselves.”

The Share Centre flagged up Earthport, Incadea and Montise as preferred picks for investors seeking a high risk/reward trade off.