Emerging market investors, such as those in India, have a higher appetite for risk than their more conservative brethren in the developed economies of the West, noted Barclays Wealth chief executive Thomas Kalaris, interviewed by the The Economic Times (of India).

“In the US and Western Europe, we find that cash levels are incredibly high. There is a conservative view towards markets, so there is a tendency to be very barbelled in the sense that cash levels are very high. If you look at risk measures, our clients in developed markets want to be in low risk. On the other side, when it comes to developing market clients, including clients in India, there is no pullback in terms of risk,” he was quoted as saying.

Kalaris said he was “very bullish on the direction of equity markets for this year”, arguing that economic growth will be strong and that large cash holdings among firms and companies will need to be put to work.

“I expect the risk to return in the West by the end of the year or early next year. That is why I am bullish about the equity markets. This wall of money will have to come into the markets,” he was quoted as saying.

Along with other wealth management houses, the firm has addressed the issue of whether, in some countries such as the UK, there will be a "double-dip" recession. Michael Dicks, chief economist at Barclays Wealth, has recently predicted that there is a one in three chance that the UK economy falls back into recession next year, as tax hikes, government spending cuts and stubbornly high inflation create a set of strong headwinds.

In Kalaris's interview, and referring to issues such as central bank monetary easing and commodities, he was quoted as saying that inflation is a threat.

“I believe that in the longer run, there will be inflationary consequences to what is going on. But I don’t think we will see inflation in the short run. So I would be neutral-to-somewhat pessimistic on gold. Commodities in general, I think the bull market will continue over a longer period of time. I think the growth in the developing world will continue to be strong and the developed world will come back," he said.

He reiterated the firm’s previously reported desire to double the number of bankers working for Barclays Wealth in India.