The investor positivity towards UK-listed companies fell significantly by 14.42 per cent this month - dropping from 23.8 to 9.06. Additionally, positivity towards UK corporate bonds fell by 6.27 per cent; UK government bonds fell by 4.16 per cent; and UK property fell by 3.21 per cent. This decline was concurrent with the triggering of Article 50, which likely led to investors becoming more cautious towards UK shares and bonds as they wait to see the political and financial market reactions play out. 

Although investor sentiment fell, it was not reflected in actual performance, which saw UK equities rally by 0.9 per cent for the month and 17 per cent in the last year.
 
In contrast, investor sentiment towards European equities rose by 12.29 per cent, from -34.40 per cent to -22.11 per cent, which suggested that investors were not deterred by Europe’s overall political uncertainty. Compared to last year, sentiment towards European equities is up 14.20 per cent. Sentiment toward Japanese shares and emerging market shares rose as well. 

When it comes to asset class performance, all asset classes have risen over the last year, except for UK property, which is down 2.7 per cent. 

Although the past year has been positive overall in terms of asset class performance, six out of 11 asset classes have seen a decline in the last month. The biggest drop was commodities, which fell 3.9 per cent. In contrast, Eurozone equities and emerging market equities are the best performers on a month-by-month basis, up 5.6 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.