According to Franklin Templeton Investments, it’s fund manager’s Global Investor Sentiment Survey (GISS) 2015 showed that 81 percent of Malaysian respondents were confident of achieving their financial goals. A piece of good news even if truth is, I think the survey was conducted among Malaysians who are already investing right. Top investment goals include retirement, purchasing a new home and investing in or starting a business. 71 percent said they are adopting a more conservative investment strategy in 2015. This is much higher than the 55 percent globally.
In terms of the local stock market, the result simply showed the different ways that people are investing. Some see value and some uses tools etc. Thus, the result showed 39 percent believe the market would be down and 31 percent think the market would be up while 30 percent believe the market would be flat. In total, the survey polled a total of 11,508 investors globally across Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa including 500 Malaysians. The general conclusion from the survey forms a perception towards investing and expectations for 2015 and beyond.
My personal opinion of the stock market remains the same. Buy with objectivity. Never buy because everyone says the market is going up. Buy because you have read and understand a certain company and thus instead of buying blindly, you are at least buying with your eyes wide open. No guarantees because the market sentiment may also ‘drown’ good companies in terms of their stock prices but if the company is really good, then the business would soon be reflected in its stock price. Yes, Warren Buffet said that.
The survey however tells me something very important. When we really take steps to invest, we tend to know more than the average Malaysians and because we know more, we are generally more confident even amidst the current economic downturn of today. We are nowhere near a crisis but if China is slowing and EU is having lots of problems and US’s Federal Reserve still unsure of their interest rate policy, rest assured that the market is still directionless. As they say, you cannot change the direction of the wind BUT you can definitely change your sail. Happy investing and yes, please include property investment as one of your goal. At the very least, own your own home.
written on 16 June 2015
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