Singaporeans most likely to increase investments in property in 2014

Beating out equities as investment favorite.

Singaporean investors revealed that they are most likely to increase investments in property (36 per cent) and equities in Singapore (34 per cent) in 2014, according to survey data from the latest Franklin Templeton Global Investor Sentiment Survey.

Investors in Singapore also plan to add to their portfolio emerging market equities (27 per cent), precious metals and developed market equities (both 22 per cent).

This in stark contrast to their perception that stocks will deliver the highest returns in 2014 and over the long terms.

Singaporean investors say stocks (32 per cent), property (19 per cent) and precious metals (11 per cent) will perform best in 2014 and over the long term. However, they do not expect the returns on property and precious metals to be as high as they did in 2013.

Although Singaporean investors think stocks will perform best this year, they also rank stocks (17 per cent) as the riskiest asset class for 2014, ahead of property (16 per cent) and the U.S. Dollar (14 per cent).
It was also revealed that more than three-quarters or 79 per cent of Singaporean investors admitted they were optimistic about reaching their financial goals for 2014.

This level of optimism was slightly lower than the U.S. (84 per cent), and other places in Asia such as Malaysia and Hong Kong where 84 per cent and 81 per cent of respondents respectively indicated they were optimistic.