Over a third (34%) believe politics is the biggest risk factor in 2016, followed by global economic recession at 22%, the euro crisis at 16% and a potential Chinese debt implosion at 14%. Other risks that were identified included a liquidity crash and the risk of the Fed lifting rates too quickly.
Meanwhile, close to half of respondents expect Europe to deliver the best equity returns this year. The US and emerging markets came in at joint second place at 16% each, 15% believed Japan would and 6% said the UK.
“Given the uncertainty around the ‘in-out‘ referendum and the potential for Brexit, we have a relatively cautious outlook on UK equities and are currently positioned moderately underweight,” said Charles Hepworth, investment director at GAM responsible for outsourcing solutions for UK IFAs. Sterling is likely to come under renewed pressure as investors are worried about the UK’s economic prospects.”
Hepworth continued: “Europe remains the most favoured investment region for IFAs and we believe that many of the structural imbalances in the eurozone have now been corrected. One of the managers we hold in this space sees the best investment opportunities in Spain and Ireland, where the level of domestic demand has corrected to such a degree that a multi-year bounce in internal demand is inevitable.”
