India is the jewel in the crown of more than half of older British investors, according to a new survey.
They claim the Indian stock markets are the most likely place to earn the best yields from equities especially as a 10% drop is share values in recent months makes companies more affordable.
India has two main stock markets, both based in Mumbai –the National SE and the Mumbai SE.
The main index is the NIFTY 50, comprising the country’s 50 largest market capitalised companies.
The choice of India as a leading equity market for investors aged over 40 was revealed in a global survey by Legg Mason Global Asset Management.
China falls out of favour
The research also found stock exchanges in India are not considered risky by older investors – less than a fifth (18%) of investors expressed any concerns about the markets.
The survey also ranked the popularity of other stock exchanges with the over 40s.
Wall Street – the Dow Jones and NASDAQ – ranked second with support from 47% of investors compared with 52% for India.
Europe, excluding London, was in third place with 35% of the vote.
China has tumbled out of favour.
Last year, half of investors favoured China. This year, the market is labelled as ‘risky’ and only 31% of investors feel the best investment opportunities are available there.
Russia most risky market
The survey also looked at the stock exchange choices of investors aged up to 40 years old.
Most are sticking with developed markets, with the USA (47%), Europe excluding London (42%) and Japan (33%) winning most favour.
Russia was slated as the least attractive market by this group due to the political outlook over the war in Syria, the confrontation with The Ukraine and the effect falling oil prices were having on the economy.
Adam Gent, the firm’s head of UK sales, said: “India is set to overtake China as the fastest growing global economy and the opportunities there have obviously caught the attention of investors around the world.
“Although India is the stand out global economy, older investors are also faithful to developed markets, such as the USA.
“The lack of progress in China has spooked many investors, and last year’s favourite has fallen out of favour.”
