This should hardly come as a surprise, but it is worth making the observation: investor confidence has steadfastly fallen throughout 2014 as the local share...

This should hardly come as a surprise, but it is worth making the observation: investor confidence has steadfastly fallen throughout 2014 as the local share market struggled to stay in positive territory. The Final Australian Investors Sentiment Survey, held in November by FNArena and the Australian Investors' Association (AIA), revealed part of the investors community is by now discouraged and losing appetite for additional investment. It was only six months ago when survey participants indicated they were readying themselves to start allocating additional funds to Australian equities. Now that enthusiasm seems but a fading memory. In its place have come doubt, disappointment and a noticeable loss in patience. Probably no coincidence then fixed income products have made somewhat of a come-back. All in all, the situation is far from dire, and sentiment indicators are still in the positive, but Neutral seems to have become the new black. Average cash allocations remain high by historical standards, which is -given the context- also hardly a surprise. For more details, here are the results of the November Investor Sentiment Survey (VIEW LINK)