State Street : Investor Confidence Rises in March by 15.1 Points to 120.1

Investor Confidence Rises in March by 15.1 Points to 120.1

BOSTON, March 31, 2015 - State Street Global Exchange today released the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index® (ICI) for March 2015.

The Global ICI increased to 120.1, up 15.1 points from February's revised reading of 105.0. Confidence among North American investors increased the most, with the North American ICI rising 30.0 points to 135.4, up from February's revised reading of 105.4. However, the European ICI fell by 1.6 points to 104.4 while the Asia ICI fell 4.0 points to 90.3.

The Investor Confidence Index was developed by Kenneth Froot and Paul O'Connell at State Street Associates, State Street Global Exchange's research and advisory services business. It measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analyzing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. The index assigns a precise meaning to changes in investor risk appetite: the greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher risk appetite or confidence. A reading of 100 is neutral; it is the level at which investors are neither increasing nor decreasing their long-term allocations to risky assets. The index differs from survey-based measures in that it is based on the actual trades, as opposed to opinions, of institutional investors.

"We've been in a post-crisis regime characterized by diversification out of international equities and into safer asset classes," commented Froot. "However, given the continued liquidity provision from major central banks, institutions appear to be developing renewed appetite for global equities. With reduced short-term interest rate forecasts for 2015 and 2016 by the Federal Reserve and the commencement of sovereign quantitative easing by the European Central Bank, North America investor sentiment increased the most. However, market sentiment, like the Federal Reserve, will likely be highly data dependent over the next couple of months."

"In contrast with the strong pick-up in North American sentiment, the European ICI declined," added Jessica Donohue, executive vice president and chief innovative officer, State Street Global Exchange. "Market participants may still be concerned about any fallout from negotiations over Greek reforms. Moreover, growth concerns in China may have led to the decline in the Asia ICI."

About the State Street Investor Confidence Index®

The index is released globally at 10 a.m. Eastern time in Boston on the last Tuesday of each month. More information on the State Street Investor Confidence Index is available at http://www.statestreet.com/ideas/investor-confidence-index.html .

About State Street Corporation

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading provider of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $28.19 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $2.45 trillion* in assets under management as of December 31, 2014, State Street operates in more than 100 geographic markets worldwide, including the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, visit State Street's web site at www.statestreet.com.