Quantcast
Menu
Save, make, understand money

Experienced Investor

Investors turn away from ‘safe haven’ gold, finds study

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
17/08/2015

Investors have turned their back on so-called investment safe haven gold and piled money into sterling-denominated asset classes, according to a survey.

The Lloyds Bank Investor Sentiment index found that sentiment towards gold fell to its lowest level in August since May 2013.

Significant falls in the gold price have seen it fall from the second strongest asset class last month to the fifth weakest in August, Lloyds said.

However, for the first time since the survey began in March 2013, all four sterling-denominated asset classes displayed the strongest investor sentiment.

Sentiment was strongest for UK property, followed by UK shares, UK government bonds and UK corporate bonds.

Meanwhile, sentiment towards eurozone shares saw its first increase in three months.

Ashish Misra, head of portfolio specialists at Lloyds Bank Private Banking, said: “While we would expect to see gold do well in times of volatility, investors have generally held their nerve and reached out to other asset classes for returns. In addition, with the price of gold falling to a five year low last month, the potential long-term outlook for gold is modest.

“With improvement in net sentiment scores for eurozone shares, we should expect increased interest in the asset class over the coming months as the situation in Greece improves.”