Investment: Investor expectations take a nosedive

Investor sentiment has soured dramatically over the past two months, with more fund managers now expecting growth to slacken and corporate profits to fall. A Merrill Lynch survey of 300 fund managers indicates that a net 32% are now negative about growth prospects and that a net 34% are negative about the corporate profit outlook, a significant turnround from March when investors were positive about growth and corporate profits by a net 11% and 4% respectively. Expectations have not been this low since 2001.

Investors’ expectations
Investors expect corporate
profits to…

Investor sentiment has soured dramatically over the past two months, with more fund managers now expecting growth to slacken and corporate profits to fall. A Merrill Lynch survey of 300 fund managers indicates that a net 32% are now negative about growth prospects and that a net 34% are negative about the corporate profit outlook, a significant turnround from March when investors were positive about growth and corporate profits by a net 11% and 4% respectively.