The Global Investor Confidence Index (ICI), which measures investors’ confidence and risk appetite by looking at the buying and selling patterns of institutional investors, reached 107.7 in August, up 11.4 points from the revised reading of 96.3 in July 2023.

“Investor confidence saw its biggest jump in 18 months, with the Global ICI now solidly in risk seeking territory, as risk appetite improved in every region this month,” commented Marvin Loh, senior global macro strategist at State Street Global Markets in the company’s , published on 30 August.

The last time the global index saw such a big jump was in early 2022, when the reading went from 90.0 in January 2022 to 103.9 in February 2022.

Regional North American, European and Asian investor confidence indices all increased during August, said State Street. The North American investor confidence index rose 12.9 points to reach 103.8, while the European index increased 4.3 points to 103.7 and the Asian index went up by 4.8 points to 102.2. These indices are now all above the neutral reading of 100, which means they are in risk-seeking territory. The higher the percentage allocation to equities, the higher the risk appetite or confidence, according to State Street.

“The improvement was led by North America, which recorded its strongest reading in a year on the heels of falling recessionary concerns. A pair of better than expected CPI [consumer price index] prints have also supported the view that a soft landing was possible,” said Loh. “While the monthly gain was not as strong in Europe, this regional ICI bounced back above 100, as overall disinflation started to accelerate, with a tenuous economic backdrop holding back further gains. Asia ICI showed a similar investor dynamic, improving back towards moderate risk appetite, although China’s economic challenges impacted further gains.”

State Street’s press release also said that the company plans to retire its in late October. It will be replaced with new indicators: Institutional Investor Holdings and Risk Appetite Indicators. “These indicators will provide richer insights into how this influential block of investors is positioned and where their assets are flowing, at an aggregated and anonymised level,” said Will Kinlaw, head of research for State Street.

As of 30 June 2023, the company has $39.6trn in assets under custody and/or administration and $3.8trn in assets under management. State Street is active in more than 100 geographic markets and employs around 43,000 people, including roughly 1,000 in Luxembourg.