UAE investors feel confident about their region’s economic perspectives, with 85 percent expressing optimism for the current year, according to a new investment sentiment survey by UBS. However, opinions are split on when life will return to normal.

A slight majority of 51 percent think normal activity will resume before July 2021, while 49 percent of those surveyed believe it will not happen until the second half of the year, according to the report issued Monday.

Following the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, countries across the world resorted to largescale lockdowns leading to a slowdown in economic activities. UAE, a frontrunner in vaccine delivery, hopes to vaccinate its entire adult population by end-2021, crossing the 50 percent mark by the end of next month.

According to the UBS survey, globally, over 60 percent of survey respondents have a positive economic outlook over the next 12 months, compared with 55 percent three months prior.

The survey polled more than 4,000 investors and business owners across 14 markets globally in late December and January.

Sixty-three percent of investors globally don’t believe life will return to normal in the next six months. Of those respondents, only 48 percent are optimistic about the economy. Among the 37 percent of investors who expect life to return to normal in the next six months, economic optimism is much higher at 80 percent.

UAE investors singled out COVID-19 (63 percent), followed by climate change (56 percent) and fear of a market downturn (55 percent).

“In such uncertain times, a record 9 out of 10 investors in the UAE said they needed more expert financial advice than ever. They also see clear value in sustainable investing, with 86 percent stating that the topic is important to them and 8 out of 10 expecting the same or even better return from sustainable investments when compared to more traditional portfolios,” the report said.

Ali Janoudi, Head of Wealth Management for the Middle East and Africa, said: “The fact that 9 in 10 investors in the UAE said they needed more financial advice now than ever clearly shows the challenges many are facing when navigating today’s volatile markets. At the same time, it also emphasizes the opportunity for our clients to seek expertise and rebalance their portfolios now so they are in pole position to profit from future market movements.”

(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com)

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