Investors lift stocks, keep exposure thin
Investors weathered a volatile August on financial markets by slightly lifting their stock holdings but kept exposure well below average, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.
Lloyds raises writedown on risky assetsSurveys of 44 leading investment houses in the United States, continental Europe, Britain and Japan showed on Thursday that an average mixed-asset portfolio held 57.4 percent in stocks, up from 56.7 percent in July.
This compared with a long-term average of just above 60 percent for stocks.
Bond exposure also rose slightly - to 33.4 percent in August from 33.1 - and was above the 32 percent average holding.
Cash was a below-average 4.2 percent, down from 4.9 percent mainly as a result of moves within the British poll. Remaining holdings were divided among other asset classes such as property and hedge funds.
Overall, the findings painted a picture of cautious investors unwilling to make major moves in a volatile market environment but also unwilling to throw in the towel on a future recovery.
"Everyone wants to overweight stocks, but don't know what the catalyst for an equities recovery will be," said Brian Gendreau, an investment strategist in New York for ING Investment Management Americas.
World stocks as measured by MSCI were down more than 3 percent for the month as polling finished.
Though poor, it is only a fraction of the index's more than 17 percent year-to-date loss, however, and there have been as many up days as down for the index during August.
The volatility reflects a range of concerns about the future, including a slowing global economy, worries about inflation and continuing stress on banks from the credit crisis.
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