Investor confidence up 8.9 points in August 2021

State Street released the State Street Investor Confidence Index for August 2021, showing the index rose to 110.1 points, an increase of 8.9 points on July’s revised reading of 101.2. Confidence was up amongst investors in all regions, led by Europe (up 11.6 points to 104.8), then Asia (up 11.2 points to 98.4), North America (up 5.1 points to 110.7).

To understand the results, a reading of 100 is neutral, with neither increasing or decreasing long-term allocations to risky assets. The confidence index is based on actual trades, not opinions.

“In spite of ongoing concerns related to the delta variant and vaccine numbers, investor confidence remained remarkably resilient in August and Global ICI recorded its highest reading in more than three years,” commented Rajeev Bhargava, head of Investor Behavior Research, State Street Associates.

“The resurgence in risk appetite has been uniform across all regions globally, with North America up 5 points and Europe and Asia both gaining double digits relative to July’s readings. While the positive sentiment is certainly encouraging, it will be important to see if investors can maintain this level of enthusiasm for risk assets in the coming months should Covid infection rates continue to trend higher and the Fed messages a more hawkish stance.”