Investors retreat into cash as political uncertainty weighs

Gold remains most popular asset class

Cash has recorded the biggest rise in popularity over the past month, while gold allocations are at 'extreme' levels, suggesting investors are increasingly concerned about geopolitical risks and Brexit negotiations, according to the Lloyds Bank Investor Sentiment index.

  Lloyds carried out fieldwork between 28 September to 2 October 2017 to measure net investor sentiment towards various asset classes.  Overall, the Sentiment index was up 0.5% to 4.3% compared to last month and has risen 1.3% compared to the same time last year.  However, cash was the only asset class to see a dbouble digit monthly increase in popularity, rising 10.8% to -25.1%, far ahead of the second biggest increase, which was 2.8% seen in emerging market equities. Furthermore, gold attracted the highest overall sentiment of 44.4% suggesting investors continue to look for sa...