Risky vs. Safe Assets Fund Flows Over the past four weeks, inflows into risk assets have outpaced those into safer funds, pointing to a shift in investor appetite toward higher-return bets. With confidence rebuilding, markets are tilting back toward risk. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Global Market Implied Equity Risk Premiums With equity risk premiums compressed in the U.S. and Japan, stocks offer limited upside over bonds, turning equities into a tougher bet and increasing the risk of frustration. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Risk Appetite Indicator Goldman Sachs’s Risk Appetite Indicator is on the rise. Investors are stepping back into risk with few signs of overheating. Confidence is improving, but not getting ahead of itself. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Sentiment – Risk Appetite and Expected U.S. Equity Market Performance After March’s flight to safety, April has seen U.S. equity fund managers tiptoe back into risk. But sentiment remains cautious, with market appetite still muted as the Middle East conflict keeps investors on edge. Image: S&P Global Market Intelligence
Bloomberg Dollar Index One-Month Risk Reversals Currency markets are turning defensive, as demand for dollar upside and protection against violent swings gains pace amid Middle East tensions. Few things spook investors like uncertainty, and the greenback remains their safe haven. Image: Bloomberg
S&P 500 Return Around 7 Major Geopolitical Risk Events The S&P 500’s 5% slide from its January peak mirrors the market’s typical pullback after major geopolitical shocks. Many investors see the turbulence as temporary, betting that history’s pattern of quick recoveries will hold. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Risk Appetite Indicator for Different Asset Classes Investors’ risk appetite for equities has cooled recently but stays in positive territory amid ongoing market swings. Sentiment has definitely softened, but bulls haven’t left the room. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Geopolitical Risk Index Geopolitical risk has risen sharply and this often coincides with higher equity volatility and risk‑off behavior in markets. Markets hate uncertainty, and geopolitics never fail to deliver it. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
S&P 500 Return Around Geopolitical Risk Events The latest moves in the S&P 500 recall how markets have historically absorbed geopolitical risks: brief pullbacks followed by rebounds, often back to pre-shock levels in roughly a month. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Change in Global Financial Conditions Following 8 Largest Geopolitical Risk Shocks in the Middle East Even though past Middle East conflicts haven’t consistently tightened financial conditions, the global FCI is up 31bp. Sustained at this level, the squeeze could trim global GDP growth by roughly 0.3pp over the next year. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment…
Peak to Trough in the S&P 500 Around Spikes in the Geopolitical Risk Index Most geopolitical shocks haven’t caused lasting market impacts. Oil tends to surge when tensions rise in the Middle East, gold gets a lift, Treasuries draw buyers unless energy prices spiral, and equities typically retreat. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research