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The appetite for alternative investments has grown significantly among Swiss professional investors in the past couple of years.


That is according to a poll of top investors at the Citywire Alternative Ucits Forum in Zurich on Thursday.


The poll showed that 69.57% of selectors believe this trend has made
significant strides recently, while the remaining 30.43% disagreed.


Quizzed on how much cash they are currently holding in their
portfolios, almost the half of selectors (45.45%) said less than 5%,
while the 36.36% of the audience responded between 5% and 10%.


This is while 13.64% of the attendees is holding 15% of cash or higher, and 4.55% between 10% and 15%.


Consistency rather than high returns

Like their counterparts in Geneva, selectors
in Zurich said they are looking for managers who offer stability,
consistent performance and limited downside risk rather than simply high
returns.


In response to a question on which term was most apt for the managers
they are investing with, the majority of attendees (82.61%) voted for
the more conservative profile, while the 17.39% opted for a selection
based on high returns.



Expressing their views on gold, the majority of Swiss selectors said
they are holding either zero exposure, which was picked by 36% of
voters, or between 3-5% of the bullion in their portfolios, which was
chosen by 36% as well.


This compared to 23% who said they had 1-3%, while those holding more
than 5%, which would reflect the historical view of gold being popular
among the Swiss investment community, was picked by just 5%.



Finally, in response to a question on who has the most challenging job
over the coming year, exactly half of the audience said the toughest
challenge was faced by European Central Bank head, Mario Draghi.


He was followed by the next FIFA president (36.36%), while chair of
the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, received 9.09% and the head of the
Swiss National Bank accrued 4.55%.