- Fund manager year-end outlooks can be a useful barometer
- Investors lukewarm on Asia and emerging markets
The economic gloom that has been so widespread this year has, in general, not hurt global stock market returns, with many indices well in the black for 2023 so far. Plenty of overseas indices are well up in local currency terms for 2023: Japan’s Topix is up by a quarter, with US and European indices sitting on gains of around 15 per cent. And from emerging markets to the FTSE 100 there have also been modest gains to bank elsewhere – in contrast to the volatility that has continued to haunt the bond market.
Looking ahead, how much of this is baked into the opinions of professional investors? Our latest gauge of such sentiment, taken via a sample of fund manager year-end outlooks, shows some clear preferences by region and sub-sector. Depending on your viewpoint, this can tell us something about good opportunities, or perhaps just crowded trades. Either way, it is a useful barometer.