Gold turns out to be the favourite investment of the Fleming in 2024 according to a survey conducted by high-street bank ING. The Dutch bank's investor barometer shows renewed optimism among private investors across Belgium.
According to the survey there is renewed optimism among private investors: more than a third expect rising returns in the coming months. The stock market has already rebounded significantly over the past month, with in November ING's investor barometer also standing at the second highest level of the year.
In 2024, 21 per cent of Belgians expect real estate to be the best performer. The figure represents a significant drop (8 percentage points) from a year earlier.
The rise of gold is remarkable: 19 percent of Belgians expect it to yield the greatest returns, up 6 percentage points. Among Dutch-speakers, gold is even in first place.
Equities are preferred by 17 per cent of Belgians, down 2 percentage points, while bonds are sharply more popular (+5) to 12 per cent.
For longer-term (three-year) investments, Belgians see most potential in utilities, ahead of ICT. Pharmaceuticals, another topper during the corona pandemic, is steadily losing interest.