There is new confidence in UK equities amongst DIY investors, 71% of whom expect the FTSE 100 to rise in the next six months, according to a survey by Charles Stanley Direct.
In the past three months, more than 40% of DIY investors have increased their exposure to the FTSE 100 and only 9% have reduced their allocations. This enthusiasm did not stop at large-caps, with 35% of investors increasing their exposure to the FTSE 350 and 28% putting more money into the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Rob Morgan, chief investment analyst at Charles Stanley Direct, said: “At last! After a sticky start to 2024, facing high inflation, high rates, a recession risk and geopolitical chaos, the FTSE has emerged victorious.”
This confidence, Morgan claimed, was the result of the UK stock market’s record high performance in May and investors are increasingly putting their “money where their mouth is”.
Enthusiasm for the UK is much higher than other regions, with only 33% of DIY investors increasing their exposure to US equities and only 29% to wider European equities.
Such optimism has also impacted other asset classes, with a 32% rise in UK corporate bonds allocations and a further 34% to gilts.