ING Group: European Retail Investors Prefer Domestic Investments

According to Jin10, ING Group Chief Economist Marieke Blom said European retail investors remain inclined to invest at home despite pessimism about the outlook for the European economy. ING Group's survey of European consumers found that 38% of respondents preferred investing in Europe, while only 14% preferred investing in the United States. Blom said that although there is a great deal of negative sentiment around the European economic outlook, many Europeans still prefer to put their money into domestic assets. She said more money flowing into European stocks would help support regional equity valuations and attract capital to private companies. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index has risen 9.6% so far this year, while the S&P 500 Index has gained nearly 13%.