Investors cautiously awaiting upturn

2 May 2002

Uncertainty about the state of the markets has led investors to hold back from the market so far this year, according to the latest ComPeer survey of investor activity.

The static or falling share values of recent months have also meant that investors have been more likely to be sellers than buyers of shares. The ComPeer report on private investor activity for the first quarter of 2002 (January to March 2002) shows:

• average daily retail trading volumes rose from some 48,000 per day in the last half of 2001 to 55,000 per day in the first quarter of 2002;

• the APCIMS/ComPeer quarterly index of private client activity rose from 217 in Q4 2001 to 223 in Q1 2002;

• overall execution only volumes rose by four per cent;
  online trading volumes fell by nine per cent, though the number of online clients continued to rise - from 346,000 in Q4 2001 to 370,000 in Q2 2002. The average online trade size was £3,700, compared to £5,008 for telephone trades.

• APCIMS Chief Executive Angela Knight said:

"Like everyone else, the individual investor is looking for signs of steady recovery before returning to the markets - and there are no clear signs. The encouraging news is that volumes are slowly rising, and that investors are still opening online accounts, but the clear message of this survey is that investors are still watching and waiting."

Notes to editors

1. APCIMS represents the overwhelming majority of private client stockbrokers and investment managers in the UK, and through them the more than 12 million individual shareholders in the UK.

2. The APCIMS/ComPeer Private Client Activity Index charts the numbers of bargains conducted for the private client every quarter.
   

For further information call:

Kevin Sloane, Head of Information, APCIMS (office 020 7247 7080; mobile 07917 406939; email kevins@apcims.co.uk)