State Street

State Street’s Investor Confidence Index Down in December

State Street - Investor ConfidenceState Street Global Markets announced that Investor Confidence  declined in December by 1.3 points to 79.7, from November’s revised reading of 81.0. The index measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analyzing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors

The decrease in sentiment was driven by a 24.5 point drop in the European ICI to 109.4. Meanwhile, the North American ICI and the Asian ICI increased to 71.6 and 89.9.

Rajeev Bhargava, head of Investor Behavior Research for State Street Associates, commented: “Investor sentiment in North America continues to lag behind its European and Asian counterparts. While still below the neutral level of 100, optimism around a workable China trade deal appears to have lifted the appetite of Asian investors. Interestingly, however, the bounce in risk sentiment did not transmit into Europe, where investor confidence fell sharply this month, possibly from a combination of weaker economic data and the continued uncertainty of a hard Brexit on the region.”

The index assigns a precise meaning to changes in investor risk appetite: the greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher risk appetite or confidence. A reading of 100 is neutral; it is the level at which investors are neither increasing nor decreasing their long-term allocations to risky assets. The index differs from survey-based measures in that it is based on the actual trades, as opposed to opinions, of institutional investors.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analyzing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. The index assigns a precise meaning to changes in investor risk appetite: the greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher risk appetite or confidence.

The Boston headquartered banking and financial service provider has most recently announced the election of Ronald O’ Hanley, its chief executive officer, as the new Chairman of the board effective. He succeeds Jay Hooley, who is retiring from the role of Chairman and as a member of the board.

Also new in 2020 is the bank’s Chief Information Officer, who is now Brian Franz. The statement revealed that Franz’s appointment as CIO reflects its priority to achieve the status of the digital-first organization with an emphasis on client and employee experience, agile innovation and productivity.

In 2019, Harry Xu was named Vice President for its Forex business division for Asia operations. Prior to joining state street, Harry served for nearly five years at Japanese financial service provider Nomura in various roles based out of their New York Office.