®
INSIDE THE BUY-SIDE®
FIRST QUARTER| ISSUE DATE: JANUARY 15, 2013
Despite pre-election uncertainty,
year-end fiscal cliff fears and ongoing European sovereign debt issues, U.S. equities staged a strong finish for 2012. For the year, the Dow gained 7%, the S&P 500 added 13%, marking the index’s largest annual return since 2009 and fourth largest return in the last decade and the NASDAQ climbed 16% after logging a decline of 1.8% in 2011. Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 Index, a barometer for small-caps, rose 15%.
By Sector
4, 10% 4, 10% 20, 53%
4, 10% 3, 8% 1, 3% each
In our ongoing quest to remain at the forefront of current trends in investor sentiment, we recently conducted interviews with 38 global financial professionals across multiple industry segments and investment styles. Participating institutions aggregately manage upwards of $1.8 trillion in equity assets.
By Investment Style
5, 13%
7, 18%
Investor tone can best be described as tempered optimism. With the U.S. Presidential Election in the rear view mirror, easing fears over Europe and China and fiscal cliff (Part I) resolved, the buy side now turns their attention to the debt ceiling, earnings and current year guidance. An analyst1 sums up general sentiment, “There is clearly a lot of uncertainty but there are good things happening in the world”. As earnings season gets underway, most investors predict that fourth quarter results should be in line with already muted expectations. Focus will be on growth expectations for 2013 with several noting that while “companies have been ruthless in cutting costs and expanding margins…the ability to trim excess fat in the next year will become more difficult, as much of the fat has already been cut”.
Generalist Technology Multi Industrials Fixed Income Energy Healthcare Retail
4, 11% 3, 8% 13, 34% 1, 3%
3, 8% 2, 5%
Core Growth GARP Core Value Growth Hedge Fund Fixed Income Deep Value Aggr. Gr.
By Country
12, 31%
24, 63%
1, 3%
US Europe Asia Australia
1, 3%
1
Growth, Industrials
www.corbinperception.com
1