According to the report: “Globally, investor confidence fell 7.7 points to 99.7 from March’s revised reading of 107.4. Declines in sentiment in North America were a key contributor, with institutional investor confidence falling 6.7 points from 110.4 to 103.7. Among Asian investors, too, confidence was lower, falling 6.5 points from 100.7 to 94.2”. Curiously: “European institutions bucked the trend, as the reading for that region rose 1.2 points from 94.7 to 95.9”.
The index measures investor confidence on a quantitative basis, analyzing the buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. To quote the release: “The index assigns a precise meaning to changes in investor risk appetite: the greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher is risk appetite or confidence. It is based on actual trades rather than survey data. As a result it captures the sentiment of institutional investors with unique precision.”
It does seem bizarre that European investors were more confident with sovereign debt, but then last week’s EU consumer confidence estimate was also up. Maybe it’s just me and everything is really OK?