The crowd of 50 fund selectors attending Expert Investor Europe’s event in Barcelona last month 
emerged as European equities’ biggest fans, and their faith in the asset class can even be classified as extraordinary. Considering the large sample of 50 fund selectors, it is truly remarkable that not a single one of them is planning to decrease exposure to the asset class. In all other European financial centres, though samples are often a lot smaller, there is always at least one fund selector intending to decrease his weighting.
Worsening outlook
The Catalan trust in European equities comes at a time their macroeconomic outlook has deteriorated significantly, with the majority of fund buyers adopting a neutral view. Back in February, almost three quarters of them were positively minded about economic prospects.
The weakening of the euro versus the dollar, which renders European exporters more competitive, might play a role in explaining Catalans’ European enthusiasm. US equities are much less popular, with a large majority keeping their allocation unchanged.
A universal view
Global equities, with 63% increasing exposure and just 3% cutting allocation, are almost as popular as their European equivalents. Many smaller banks and wealth managers increasingly allocate to this category to spread risks and capture the entire equity universe, Javier Hoyos explained to Expert Investor Europe. “I have also increased my allocation to global equity funds”, said the fund selector from Crédit Agricole Mercagestión SGIIC in the Basque country.
