Bullish sentiment among experienced investors has nosedived, according to the results of E-Trade Financial’s quarterly tracking study, released Friday.
Sentiment fell to 52%, a decline of 16 percentage points from the first quarter and 11 points from last year’s second quarter.
“After a 2017 defined by record-breaking highs, volatility now seems to be the name of the game,” Mike Loewengart, E-Trade’s vice president of investment strategy, said in a statement. “This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given trade tensions with China, tech stocks taking one on the chin amid data privacy issues, and some jobs data coming in at the end of the quarter as a bit of a mixed bag.”
That said, Loewengart noted that economic fundamentals remain strong as the earnings season commences, and many equities may be considered bargains by historical standards.
E-Trade conducted the online survey from April 1 to April 11 among 947 U.S. self-directed active investors who manage $10,000 or more in an online brokerage account.