The newly released "Schroders Global Investment Trends Report 2014" reveals that Asians are the most confidence about high-risk investments, and investing in general, in 2014.

Asians are the most aggressive investors in the world and the most bullish on equities in 2014, according to the latest global report by Schroders. 

In the research titled "Schroders Global Investment Trends Report 2014," the UK-headquartered firm found that 74 per cent of the survey respondents from Asia intend to invest in equities, down slightly from 3 per cent in the previous year, versus 70 per cent of their global peers. 

The most optimistic were investors in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, with 88 per cent, 86 per cent and 81 per cent planning to invest in stocks. They also top the list for having the highest confidence in local equities. Sixty-six per cent of Hong Kong investors believe Hong Kong equities will be the best performer, while 55 per cent of Taiwan and Singapore think theirs will deliver the best returns. On average, 45 per cent of Asian investors believe their home market equities will outperform, versus the global average of 41 per cent. 

When asked about how they see investment opportunities in the year ahead, 90 per cent of Indian respondents said they are very confident. This is followed by investors from Thailand, 83 per cent, Indonesia, 76 per cent, and Japan, 76 per cent. The regional average was 66 per cent, up by 7 per cent from 2013, compared to the global average of 56 per cent. 

This level of optimism is perhaps the reason why Asian investors are the most accepting of high-risk endeavours, said the study. Asians plans to put 25 per cent of their investments in high-risk assets, versus the global average of 20 per cent. Investors in Thailand had the highest risk appetite and plan to allocate 37 per cent of their money in such assets. 

The Schroders study also interestingly adds that gold and bonds are the second and third most popular investments among Asian investors in 2014, with 22 per cent and 21 per cent of the respondents planning to invest in these asset classes. 

"The gradual recovery of the global economy has spurred Asian investors’ confidence in equities, but their strong home-bias is exposing themselves to high levels of macroeconomic and fiscal policy risks. We are already seeing adverse impact on emerging markets from QE tapering and we expect this to be one of the many challenges for Asian markets in 2014," said Grace Ho, head of marketing, Asia-Pacific at Schroders.

Schroders expects global growth to accelerate to 3% this year after 2.6% in 2013, led mainly by developed markets.

The latest research covers responses from 15,749 investors across 23 countries, including 5,395 investors in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The respondents were those who intended to invest €10,000 (approx $13,800 or equivalent) or more during the next 12 months.