Almost half of Asia investors were satisfied with their investment performance in 2014 and many of these rode their luck, according to the Canadian financial services group Manulife.

Of the 49 per cent of Asia investors that were happy with their investment returns last year, many said they had “pure luck” on their side, according to new research by Manulife.

Investors in Indonesia relied the most on luck with 54 per cent of the country's satisfied investors putting this down to “pure luck”. They also came out as the happiest investors, with 81 per cent happy with their returns, according to Manulife. The findings draw an interesting parallel between risk-taking and instinct-led investing. In the Philippines, of the 76 per cent that were happy with their investment returns, a considerable 42 per cent said luck was the winning formula.

"Relying on luck is typically a highly risky investment strategy," Manulife Asset Management's head of wealth and asset management, Asia, Michael Dommermuth, said in a statement.

"After several years of relative calm in many global markets, uncertainty over interest rates, geopolitical tension, slower economic growth in China and the prospect of continued recession in the eurozone mean that renewed volatility is likely to continue in 2015. Luck will usually do little to insulate investors from the degree of market risk implied by these market forces." 

Almost two-thirds of investors in Japan banked on luck for positive investment performance and they turned out to be the region's most dissatisfied (31 per cent) with their returns over the 2014.

In contrast, Chinese investors investors credited skill and judgement – 59 per cent said rebalancing investment portfolios was key to performance and only 11 per cent said luck played a central part.

>Meanwhile, the two factors blamed for investor dissatisfaction across Asia were unexpected market events (32 per cent) and insufficient investing (also 32 per cent).

“In our opinion, an asset allocation portfolio, which actively rebalances exposure to equities and bonds and various global markets to reflect current market conditions, can be a suitable investment strategy for these conditions. It can help to efficiently minimise risk exposure while still delivering the potential for capital gains or even a recurring income stream,” said Dommermuth.

The Manulife Investor Sentiment Index measures and tracks investors’ views in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, based on 500 interviews in each market.