SCOTTISH INVESTORS are going for gold and aiming for oil as disintegrating confidence in the UK economic outlook drives more money into commodities, a report out today reveals.
More than half of Scots surveyed by Bank of Scotland Private Banking identify the slim chances of an economic recovery as their main concern when it comes to investing their money, compared with just 43 per cent of investors across the UK as a whole.
Investors are also downbeat about the prospects for UK equities, with just 15 per cent of Scots expressing confidence in domestic stocks and shares, against a fifth across the UK as a whole.
Instead, investors north of the Border view commodities as the investment sector most likely to deliver returns, according to the Bank’s latest investor outlook research.
Yet almost a fifth of investors in Scotland plan to invest more in equities over the next six months, while 14 per cent claim to have increased their stock markets exposure since March this year.
Willie Raeburn, head of region at Bank of Scotland Private Banking, said: “Many investors still have lingering fears about UK growth. Three consecutive quarters of negative growth will certainly have made a lasting impression on many investors and Scotland does seem to be lagging behind the rest of the UK on employment and retail sales.”
