ING Belgium used a survey to investigate the confidence of Belgian retail investors. The survey was conducted by Kantar and is an initiative of ING. This survey expresses ‘investor sentiment’.

Investor sentiment and the investor barometer

Investor sentiment is the general attitude of investors to the stock market. It is an important indicator of the health of the stock market and can help investors make investment decisions.
The ING investor barometer rose sharply in November, standing at the second highest level this year. A third of investors expect a further rise in the next three months. The strong November month in financial markets has boosted the ING investor barometer. This gauge currently stands at 104 points. A level above 100 points means that Belgian investors view the financial-economic environment favourably.

Best investment 2024

Although real estate is again seen as the best investment for the year ahead, it is losing ground to other types of investments. One notable shift is gold, which is enjoying increased interest and has moved up to second place when it comes to a top investment for 2024. Among Dutch-speaking investors, this precious metal is even in the top spot.

Results

The survey reveals that people again see real estate as the best-performing investment in 2024. 21% of those surveyed expect this sector to be the best performer again next year. For 19% of respondents, gold will be the top investment next year, putting the precious metal in second place as the top investment for 2024. Below gold are equities and bond funds (17%), bonds and bond funds (12%), cryptocurrencies (11%), cash (5%) and the remaining 15% did not know the answer to the question.
What is striking here is that no less than 29% of those questioned still chose real estate last December and only 13% chose gold. At a time when the Belgian property market seems to be stagnating, this type of investment is losing eight percentage points, leaving the gap with gold at just two percentage points.

Why gold?

The Belgian private investor puts gold at spot 2 when it comes to the best investment for 2024. The Dutch private investor, on the other hand, even sees gold as the best investment for next year. The geopolitical tensions that have increased in recent months and the expectation of many investors that central banks will cut interest rates next year are creating a lot of confidence in gold and the gold price. After all, gold is seen as a safe haven.

Buying gold at The Silver Mountain

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Conclusion

The survey shows that Belgian retail investors are confident in gold when it comes to an investment in 2024. Gold is the strongest riser in the list of favourite investments for next year, scoring at spot 2. Gold's new all-time high, geopolitical tensions and the expectation of many investors that central banks will cut interest rates next year creates many high expectations for the gold price next year.

Sources

“ING beleggersbarometer: goud staat tweede in topbeleggingen voor 2024, na vastgoed”, 15 december 2023. https://newsroom.ing.be/ing-beleggersbarometer-goud-staat-tweede-in-topbeleggingen-voor-2024-na-vastgoed