Institutional investors such as plan sponsors and fund of funds prefer American and Western European investments, and intend to pull back from Russian investments over the next year, according to a survey by Quinnipiac University’s Alternative Investment Institute and the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association.
Survey respondents, which were all based in the U.S. and had a total of $1.12 trillion under management, also indicated they planned to stick with their current commodities holdings, despite recent performance by that asset class.
Of all types of investment classes, the commodities category was the one in which the most respondents intend to make no change in their allocations. However, it was the only category in which investors displayed no level of bearishness.
The CRY commodity index is down 11.9 percent since the beginning of the summer, compared to the S&P 500’s return of just about 6 percent over that same time period, the survey said.
Investors were also asked about the Federal Reserve ending its bond buying program last month. While 20 percent said the so-called “taper” has reduced risk tolerance among investors, 40 percent felt there has been no change.
