Half of Italian investors will invest EUR 6,000 less

Optimists despite everything. According to the results of a survey conducted by Fidelity International, Italian investors are not too frightened by volatility and tend to be inclined to invest with a long-term view and despite considering the geopolitical framework as the main factor of uncertainty. This is in short the picture that emerges from interviews with 1,000 retail investors in Italy conducted by Fidelity as part of the European Investor Sentiment Survey, aimed at understanding the behaviour of investors across Europe.

In Italy, more than a third (36%) of investors have an optimistic view of the stock market for the next 12 months and the same percentage expects market stability, while 24% have a more pessimistic view. Furthermore, the survey found that 51% of Italian investors are inclined to invest less over the next 12 months, due to uncertainty and volatility, as well as concerns over geopolitical events. On average, those who intend to reduce their investments estimate that they will invest almost EUR 6,000 less over the next 12 months. "Although investing can be difficult in a context of almost daily fluctuations," explained Rosario Sarcone, head of sale Italy, Fidelity International, "it is important to understand that market volatility is an inevitable and intrinsic component of investments. Market corrections can even prove to be interesting opportunities for investors with a long-term time horizon. Investors will be in a better position if they stay invested in a diversified portfolio so they can take advantage of different market cycles'.

In order to cope with volatility, 44% of investors preferred to rely on a financial advisor, while 30% said that market fluctuations did not influence their behaviour, maintaining their long-term strategy, and 14% said they increased their investments during periods of volatility, adopting the 'buy the dip' strategy. Peecentages that reveal a certain maturity on the part of Italian investors, more aware of the choices made and faithful to the time horizon required, especially for equity investments.

Almost a third (31%) of Italian investors prefer domestic assets as a buying opportunity in the coming year. China is the second preferred option (18%), followed by European assets (17%). Equities remain the most popular asset class among Italian investors, followed by bonds and fixed-income instruments (34%), while the appeal of cryptos is also growing, with 13% of investors considering them as a buying opportunity for the year ahead.

The survey among investors in European countries shows a general optimism about the outlook for stock markets, especially domestic ones: in the Netherlands (52%), Germany (50%) and Switzerland (50%) more than half of the respondents show a positive view. Spain comes next (47%), while French investors are the least optimistic at European level (34%). Geopolitical uncertainty and slowing economic growth are on everyone's mind and investors expect to invest less over the next 12 months (52% in France, 43% in Switzerland, 44% in Spain and 41% in Germany). Only in the Netherlands is there more optimism only 29% of respondents plan to invest less.