Affluent investors are optimistic going into the new year, according Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s semiannual Investor Pulse Poll, released Monday.
Ninety-three percent of affluent and high-net-worth investors in the poll said they expected their investment portfolios to stay constant or improve this year, with 48% anticipating improvement.
Fifty-three percent expected the investment climate to remain constant, while 23% looked forward to a better climate and 22% a worse one.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management surveyed 1,008 investors during the fourth quarter. The national sample had household investable assets of $100,000 or more, and one-third had more than $1 million in assets.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents named technology as a top sector for investment in 2015, followed by 75% favoring biotechnology, 71% pharmaceuticals, 69% energy and 65% health care.
Only 33% said tourism was a “good” sector for investment. Other less-favored sectors were entertainment, chosen by 32% of respondents; insurance, 31%; aerospace, 29%; and consumer discretionary, 26%.
The poll found that investors would allocate 44% of their investment portfolios to equities in 2015, with 49% of millionaire investors saying they would do so.