China trumps the United States as the dominant economic power and will
continue to do so in the future, according to a survey by Schroder
Investment Management North America Inc., a global asset manager in New
York. It rated investors' attitudes toward international investments as
a way to provide some guidance for investment managers, and despite the
bullish China sentiment only a small percentage of investors say they
plan to put money into international stocks.
China is seen as
the country dominating the economic scene now and is expected to
maintain its edge for the next 10 years, according to 45% of those
surveyed. That compares to 38% who feel the U.S. will retain its status
as global economic big dog. When the United States is removed from the
equation and China is compared to India, Russia and Germany, China gets
top billing from 73% of those surveyed, with India coming in a distant
second at 8%.
Despite that view, only 13% of those
surveyed said they now invest in international stocks, including
emerging markets, and only 19% said they planned to do so in the next
five years. Nearly half, or 49%, plan to invest in conservative CD's,
money market funds and savings accounts in the next five years, while
35% say they will invest in mutual funds. The percentage of investors
planning to invest in international equities goes up as their education
level increases.
Schroders has $259
billion in assets under management. The survey of 1,000 investors has a
margin of error of plus or minus 3%.