Ally Invest Quarterly Market Outlook Survey: Investors Remain Bullish As Long As Interest Rates Hold Steady

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 

Ally Invest Quarterly Survey Highlights:

• Bearish sentiment drops to only 20% of respondents, down sharply from 47% last quarter

• Optimism is tied to two potential market drivers for 2019:

• • Respondents expect interest rates will be left unchanged and

• • Economic trade agreements will be penned

• Brexit is a non-issue per 75% of respondents

• Interest in the FAANG stocks has dropped to only 35% of respondents, down from 44% last quarter and 41% a year ago

• Interest in AI, Cannabis and Robotics surges

In the latest quarterly investor survey from Ally Invest, the online trading and investing arm of Ally Financial Inc., independent investors expressed a more positive outlook on stocks leading into the second quarter than they did in the first quarter. For Q2, those respondents that described themselves as bullish doubled to 35% as compared to the start of Q1.

The results of the in-house survey, conducted March 27 through April 3, 2019, are based on responses from approximately 300 independent investors. 

The Key Market Drivers

The bullish sentiment by investors appears, in part, supported by the majority of respondents' belief that interest rates will remain unchanged this year (67%) and the government will sign economic trade agreements that will help drive the markets higher (61%). 

Other major market drivers cited by respondents include positive year-over-year earnings (26%), low unemployment rate (24%), lack of inflation (18%), and tax reform (15%).  

The top market concerns for investors include a potential recession (62%), the possibility of negative international trade news (52%), the current domestic political environment (50%), and the potential for slowing economic growth (46%). Interestingly, Brexit did not appear to be a major issue for the majority of investors with 75% stating they believed it would have little to no impact on the U.S. market for the quarter ahead. 

"The results of our Q2 outlook survey indicate that many investors view a few major issues, such as Brexit and slowing corporate growth, as either already built into the market or not threatening enough to limit their opportunities," said Lule Demmissie, president of Ally Invest. "Their eyes are much more trained on what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates and whether there will be any meaningful progress made on trade." 

Interest in FAANGs Declines Despite Brightened Sentiment

The number of respondents who said they invest in FAANG stocks (i.e. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix & Google) declined by 9 points from last quarter and 6 points from Q2 2018. For those who do, however, confidence in those stocks either meeting or exceeding market expectations has increased over last quarter.  

• Facebook: 33% believe the company will meet or exceed expectations vs 26% last quarter

• Apple: 53% "meet or exceed expectations" vs 45% last quarter

• Amazon: 65% "meet or exceed expectations" vs 62% last quarter

• Netflix: 53% "meet or exceed expectations" vs 48% last quarter

• Google: 57% "meet or exceed expectations" vs 55% last quarter

Other Tech Stocks to Watch

Beyond FAANG stocks, respondents were asked to identify other technology stocks they believe will perform well this year. Those top stocks included NVIDIA (33%), Microsoft (30%), and AMD (22%).  

Interest in AI, Cannabis & Robotics Stocks Grows

When asked what other industries will perform well in 2019, respondents felt artificial intelligence (64%, up from 61% in Q1), cannabis (63%, up from 59% in Q1) and robotics (60%, up from 54% in Q1) are the top industries to watch. 

Results of the survey are for informational purposes only and not intended as investment advice. Investing involves risk. Thus, before investing you should consider what is suitable given your particular circumstances or seek professional advice.  

Ally Invest is the brokerage and wealth management offering from Ally that exists alongside the firm's award-winning online banking products. Ally Invest offerings consist of a low-cost trading platform for self-directed investors, as well as a suite of affordable, automatically-managed investment portfolios, both delivered through a fully-transparent online process. The combination of low-cost investing with Ally's competitive deposit products gives customers a powerful value proposition for managing their financial well-being. 

About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with $178.9 billion in assets as of December 31, 2018. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on "Doing It Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). We also support the Ally CashBack Credit Card. Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies. 

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures. 

Media Contacts: 
Andrea Puchalsky at Ally
313-656-3798
[email protected] 

Sue Parente at Tier One Partners
781-642-7788
[email protected]

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SOURCE Ally Financial