Investment Strategies
Apple Stock Tops Investor Wish List - Barclays Stockbrokers
Apple would be the most commonly held global company stock in a "dream portfolio", say clients of Barclays Stockbrokers.
Research carried out by Barclays Stockbrokers indicated that, with 47 per cent of the vote, Apple is the leading stock that investors would hold in their fantasy portfolio. British Petroleum held 24 per cent of the vote, while one tenth of investors said they would go for the healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline.
The research also found that the oil and gas sector is currently by far the most popular area for investment, with 64 per cent of respondents backing it. The second most popular sector is the mining industry, which claimed 11 per cent of the votes.
“The demand for investing internationally is growing strongly amongst our clients, and the appetite for such a broad range of sectors and markets is encouraging. Our clients have their fingers on the pulse when it comes to global stocks,” said Paul Inkster, head of product at Barclays Stockbrokers.
Having recently added the markets of Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark and Norway to its International Trader platform, the execution-only stockbroker was keen to find out its clients’ reactions. The Hong Kong and Australia markets were voted the two most appealing of the five, taking 34 per cent and 33 per cent of the vote respectively. Singapore came in third with 22 per cent.
With the addition of the five new markets to its platform, Barclays Stockbrokers now allows access to over 12,000 stocks across 18 international markets. “International Trader is ideal for self-directed clients who prefer to pick their own stocks and seek opportunities in global markets. With the addition of these new exchanges, there are now even more opportunities for our clients to invest in the companies and sectors that really interest them,” said Inkster.
Investors can still gain exposure to markets which are not covered by International Trader via other investment vehicles, such as exchange-traded funds, managed funds and contracts for differences, says the firm.
