State Street Institutional
Investor Indicators
Investment insights based on facts, not surveys

The State Street Institutional Investor Indicators provide investors, policymakers, and the public with insights into the aggregated and anonymized positioning, risk appetite, and portfolio carbon exposures of thousands of institutional investors around the world, representing trillions of dollars in assets.

State Street Institutional Investor
Risk Appetite Indicator

The Risk Appetite Indicator quantifies the degree to which the trading patterns of institutional investors are risk seeking or averse, on a scale of -100% (most risk averse) to 100% (most risk seeking).

Key Facts
  • The Institutional Investor Risk Appetite Indicator measures the buying and selling of risky assets across 22 dimensions of risk
  • These range across asset classes: equities, fixed-income, cash, and foreign exchange
  • Key dimensions include stock versus cash allocations, cyclical versus defensive equities, high-yield versus investment-grade corporate bonds, and US Dollar currency flows
  • Released monthly
Our latest report

Holdings

  • Equity allocations are near their highest levels in 25 years.
  • The only times they were higher were during the dot-com bubble and the GFC, serving as a caution that today's buoyant sentiment could be vulnerable to shocks.
  • Foreign demand for Treasuries, Gilts, and OATs remaining weak

RiskAppetite

  • Institutional investors aggressive buying of risky assets mirrors the fervor seen in November 2020, when COVID vaccines were announced.
  • The State Street Risk Appetite Index rose to +0.54 at the end of July as Investors believe the peak of uncertainty, whether geopolitical or policy-related, has passed.
Risk Appetite