According to LSE.co.uk, an independent share and financial information website, 58% of private investors in the UK said their risk profile was either adventurous or aggressive.
While most had a bullish outlook, the survey also revealed over a third of respondents felt they were taking less risk than at the same time last year.
Meanwhile, in stark contrast, only 3.7% of respondents regarded themselves as having a defensive investment outlook.
The independent survey was completed by 1,314 respondents, from Thursday 17th to Thursday 24th November 2011.
Mark Dampier, head of research at Hargreaves Lansdown, was unsurprised by the its findings.
"I find clients left to their own devices tend to say, ‘What’s the point in dibble-dabbling?’ What people tend to do to do is roll back and not invest for a while in times like these.
"But they do not necessarily sell all their high risk investments. Others see it as a buying opportunity," he said.
Dampier added that it also depends on if an investor is investing monthly, and therefore benefiting from pound cost averaging if the markets are depressed, and often on their age.
"I’m certainly a lot less gung ho than I was 25 year ago, once you’ve accumulated wealth you want to protect it," he said.
The LSE.co.uk survey also revealed the top three sectors UK investors favour for 2012: the most popular was oil, with 25% of respondents saying they would consider investing in it next year, while energy and mining stocks were second and third at 15% and 11% respectively.
Scott Grant, director of the company, said: "It is clear from the investment risk profiles expressed in our survey that UK Private Investors can see a lot of upside in the valuation of UK Equities in 2012.
"While 2011 has witnessed a tremendously volatile equity market, the majority of LSE.co.uk’s visitors have a bullish outlook for the year ahead and discern buying opportunities in under-valued sectors."
