The findings, which are part of the asset manager’s fifth annual Global Investment Survey, revealed that roughly half of the UK investors surveyed are “somewhat optimistic” about the returns their investments could achieve over the next 12-months.
And a further 13% reported that they are “very optimistic”.
Only 30% of UK participants said they were “not that optimistic” about the prospect for their investments in the near-term and 8% who reported being “not optimistic at all”.
This is especially notable, considering that 46% of UK respondents identified the Brexit negotiations outcome as an issue which could impact the performance of their investments.
Fifty-two percent, also cited they were concerned about persistent lower interest rates.
Only Swedish investors surpassed the optimism of British-based investors, with 62% falling in the “somewhat optimistic” and 6% “very optimistic” camps.
But it wasn’t just UK investors looking past the concerns over low interest rates and Brexit impact.
Looking at the average responses from the 7,200 participating European investors from across eight major markets, 49% claimed they were somewhat optimistic about the outlook for returns.
The level of optimism in the UK and across Europe might be surprising given the Brexit backdrop, but Justin Eede, head of Europe and Americas Distribution at Legg Mason, said this has all to do with the increasingly global nature of markets.
“While there has been an understandable focus on the impact of Brexit, the truly global nature of investment markets – particularly the FTSE 100 – means investors can continue to make returns irrespective of the domestic outlook,” he said.
“As such, it is perhaps unsurprising that such a positive attitude has prevailed into 2017, especially following the gains seen the previous year across some asset classes.”
Globally speaking, American and Chinese investors were the most positive on average, with 46% and 63% optimistic on the prospects for returns in the next 12-months, respectively.
Meanwhile, Japan was the least confident globally, with 48% of respondents admitting that they are not optimistic about the potential for short-term returns.
