Investor Sentiment Turning Cautious
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Over 30 senior financial professionals, active in CEE markets and managing more than EUR 6.5 billion in assets under direct control, participated in our Institutional Investor Survey. Here, we highlight the most notable insights.
Investor positioning turns meaningfully more cautious across asset classes. Risk appetite has dropped sharply: the share of investors taking above-benchmark risk fell from 33% to 20%, while low-risk allocations doubled to 30%, pointing to a clear shift toward capital preservation amid geopolitical escalation.
CEE equity sentiment cools with BUX and CETOP both face a regional risk repricing. BUX optimism collapsed (bullish: 42% › 23%), while CETOP also re-rated lower as its prior valuation discount normalized back to pre-war levels. Rising geopolitical uncertainty — including declining expectations for a near-term Russia–Ukraine peace — is driving a more measured regional outlook.
FX visibility collapses, while HUF becomes both top potential outperformer and underperformer. EUR/HUF’s return to 390–395 and higher oil-driven vulnerability increased dispersion dramatically. HUF and PLN are now tied as expected outperformers (both 30%), but HUF is simultaneously viewed as the most likely underperformer — signaling exceptionally high uncertainty and volatility expectations.
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