Investor poll reveals confidence in FTSE and in overseas markets for 2011

Investors are confident that the UK’s FTSE will rally in 2011 and are looking to overseas markets to deliver the best returns in 2011, according to a new poll.

The majority of investors, some 53%, have a bullish outlook for the FTSE in 2011, and are confident that the FTSE will rally compared with the 44% of investors when asked at the beginning of last year, the client poll conducted by Barclays Stockbrokers, the UK’s largest online execution only stockbroker found.

Just one fifth of investors, 18%, are bearish in their outlook, and say they are not confident about FTSE performance in 2011. The research also revealed that a third of those surveyed, some 29%, are still undecided on their outlook for 2011.

However, a separate poll found that investors are even more confident in returns from overseas equity markets in 2011 than from the domestic market. Barclays Stockbrokers found three quarters, 76%, of clients believe the best returns will be found overseas.

Whilst 24% of respondents believe the UK will deliver the best returns next year, over half of respondents, 52%, favour emerging markets, a fifth, 18%, back the US, and 6% are in favour of Europe.

‘As we kick off 2011, it is interesting to see that while the majority of Barclays Stockbrokers clients believe that the FTSE will rally during the course of the year, a growing number are even more confident in overseas markets. These results support what we are increasingly hearing from clients regarding their appetite to increase the global diversification within their investment portfolios,’ said Paul Inkster, Head of Product.

Meanwhile, Barclays Wealth has launched a new structured deposit with a potential return of more than 31% at maturity. It also has a lock in feature that can ring fence returns at annual anniversaries. It is aimed at those seeking a compelling alternative to traditional deposit accounts.

Linked to the FTSE 100, the Wealthbuilder aims to provide depositors with a maximum return of 31.20% after six years. The deposit, which was first launched for retail investors in September, locks in 5.20% on each anniversary that the Index is at or above its starting level. If the Index is below its starting level on any anniversary, no return will be locked in.

Investors’ full capital is returned at maturity irrespective of market performance. However, if investors withdraw from the product before maturity, some of their capital may be lost.

‘Wealthbuilder is designed to offer an alternative to traditional deposit accounts as it offers the opportunities to lock in profits, therefore giving the chance to ring-fence growth during the term. It will return a potential 31.20% over the term while also offering the same capital security as a traditional deposit,’ said Lisa Chaudhuri, vice president, Barclays Wealth.

‘With alternative savings products still thin on the ground, a product that offers attractive returns in a low interest rate environment is likely to be desirable to investors,’ she added.