Wealthy investors are growing more bullish on risk assets such as stocks and reducing their holdings of cash, according to a new survey by U.S. bank Citigroup (C).
The poll undertaken by Citigroup’s private banking unit found that 97% of 338 family offices expect their investment returns to be positive over the next 12 months.
Family offices and private banks typically manage the investments and assets of wealthy individuals and families.
Citigroup said the survey supports evidence that wealthy investors are taking on a growing amount of investment risk with expectations that interest rates will move lower in coming months.
The survey found that the future direction of interest rates is now the top concern for more than half of respondents, overtaking inflation as the top worry for the first time since 2021.
Among wealthy investors, three quarters (75%) said they money from their investments last year, compared with 12% who lost money and 10% whose portfolio was flat.
Wealthy families and individuals are now beginning to reduce their cash holdings and investing more in riskier assets such as stocks with expectations that interest rates will be reduced.
The poll found that 43% of respondents increased their investments in stocks and 42% added to their private equity investments in recent months.
More than half of those surveyed currently have investments in generative artificial intelligence (A.I.), said Citigroup.
