Ipreo-Survey: Institutional Investors And Austrian Stocks In 1H 2015

International institutional investors remained the largest stakeholders in the ATX prime in the first half of 2015, but the index has seen major shifts among investors in the first six months of the year. Domestic investors of all types – funds, banks, insurances as well as retail investors – were the largest buyers, whereas foreign institutions rank among the major sellers. On the international side, only US-based and Norwegian investors increased their stakes in 1H 2015, while most other foreign investors reduced their holdings in the ATX prime in the same period. US and Austrian institutional holders strengthened their positions at the top of the regional list which results in an even higher concentration of the top three investor countries US, Austria, and UK. Within Europe, Norway, France and Germany remain dominant as investment regions in the ATX prime. The changes in the first half of 2015 were a result of active buying and rotation into some of the largest financial stocks with cheap valuations in Austria, as well as an even larger exposure to passivelymanaged funds with Austrian companies on their radar. While it was especially international funds that allocated more money to Europe and which led to higher liquidity, risk-aversion remained a major issue due to the political and economic instability of several Eastern European markets. Around the end of 1H 2015, the Asian stock market’s plunge was also a major concern for fund managers.