Federated Investors Survey May Signal the End of the Cautious Investor

According to Federated Investors' 2013 Investor Mindset Survey, high-net-worth investors will begin making a decisive shift in their portfolios over the next 12 months with 24% planning to invest more in equities over the next year versus only 10% for bonds.

Investors have been cautious since the market events of 2008, but the survey may signal the end of this cautious approach as nearly four times as many high-net-worth investors plan to add equity and strategies balanced between equities and fixed income to their portfolios as compared to bonds. In addition to investors, the survey indicates that advisors are even more likely than investors to be focused on equities as their recommended approach over the next year.

Although a key driver for both high-net-worth investors and advisors is a desire for consistent income, which historically meant a focus on bonds, surprisingly, 48% of investors chose equity and balanced strategies as "top of mind" when thinking of income, while only 30% of investors chose bonds.

This new willingness to try a more balanced approach is reflected in investors' responses when asked to describe their investment style. An overwhelming 84 percent of investors described themselves as having a "balanced" or "progressive" risk appetite—a moderate approach to risk. Yet a third of advisors described their clients as being "secure" or "cautious" in their risk appetite, while only 9% of investors described themselves this way.

"Few surveys take such an in-depth look at the same questions from the perspective of both investors and advisors," said Linda Duessel, senior equity strategist at Federated Investors in a statement. "We wanted to find where advisors and their clients are united and where they differ. The study provides compelling new evidence that the much-anticipated 'Great Rotation' has begun to take place, though it has been slow to materialize."

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