US stocks have shown the most drastic trend change. Back in February, 42% of Swedish fund selectors were planning to increase allocation to the asset class. In a matter of months this percentage has dropped to a record low of 8%, while 64% plan to keep their exposure unchanged. A similarly low number of US equity bulls is, apart from Sweden, only seen in Norway.
Fund selector sentiment towards European equities is following a similar pattern as attitudes regarding US equities, albeit in a less radical fashion. After topping in February this year, appetite for the asset class has come down quite a bit, but much more moderately than US equities. A third of Sweden’s fund selectors continue to increase their exposure, while only 12% say they will scale down their allocation.
Doubts about Japan rising
Japanese equities have traditionally been an asset class where Swedish fund selectors don’t have particularly strong views on. As always, ‘hold’ was again the most popular answer to the question of whether they were to increase their allocation to the asset class. But this time, the percentage of neutrals had risen to 56, reflecting increasing doubts about the effectiveness of Abenomics and the credibility of the Bank of Japan, which has committed itself to boosting asset prices.
Emerging sentiment
Emerging markets equities are the odd one out, showing a significant sentiment rebound. Some 44% of interviewees will increase their exposure during the next twelve months. Contrastingly, only one in six fund selectors are planning to decrease their allocation.
