Individual investors in the UK are seeking average annual real returns of 8.5 per cent despite also appearing to value safety over investment performance.
Natixis Global Asset Management’s 2016 survey of individual investors found that investors around the world wanted “near double-digit returns” while simultaneously exhibiting an aversion to risk.
In the UK, some 72 per cent of investors said they could define the returns needed to achieve their investment goals. On average, this figure equated to an annual real return in excess of 8 per cent, Natixis said.
Despite this demand, some 79 per cent of UK respondents identified themselves as cautious investors, with 83 per cent saying that, if forced to choose, they would pick safety over performance.
The study, based on research among 7,100 investors in 22 countries, reiterates the need for advisers to manage client expectations, given the backdrop of what professional investors describe as a low-return environment.
The report suggested advisers around the world were faced with individuals who were “trapped between expectations for near double-digit returns and strong apprehensions about investing in persistently volatile markets”.
“Investors also need greater clarity about risk and its symbiotic relationship with investment returns,” the report added.
