As some markets cool off and others heat up, it’s always interesting to have a look at the areas toward which exchange traded fund (ETF) investors are moving their money, and what they’re moving out of.
As the stock market recovers, more investors are increasingly willing to take on more risk as the potential for higher returns in emerging markets such as China and India lure them in, writes Robert Schmidt for Bloomberg.
In a survey conducted by Bloomberg news, investors and analysts are skeptical about the recovery in the United States and Europe, with 44% of respondents disfavoring Europe while 20% disfavor the United States.
Pessimism still runs strong: 71% of respondents are wary about Eastern Europe, 67% about Western Europe, 62% about Japan and 55% about the United States.
While 46% are still only making safe bets, 18% think the world economy will recover and 35% are taking up more risk in hopes of greater rewards. Developing countries are leading the rally this year, with nine of the 10 biggest gains among benchmark equity indexes. Stocks are still the most popular asset class among investors, followed by commodities. People are bullish on commodities because of growth in BRIC countries.
According to 42% of respondents, the dollar will continue to weaken against major world currencies in the next few months, and 33% think the dollar will strengthen while 22% don’t think much will change.
ETFs are an easy way to gain exposure to an area of a market. Some of the perks associated with ETFs are diversification, lower expense ratios and reduction of risk. But be sure to watch the trend lines so that you can spot those areas of the markets that are moving.
For more stories on trend following, visit our trend following category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.