SAN FRANCISCO — Investment advisers are shaking off recent market volatility, and most expect U.S. stocks to gain ground over the next six months, with the energy sector leading the way, according to a survey released Monday.
The survey of 1,044 financial advisers by brokerage firm Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., taken in late July, found two-thirds of investment professionals upbeat about stocks even as gyrating markets whipsawed investors on practically a daily basis.
About six in 10 respondents believe the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will be up six months from now by less than 10 percent, while 6 percent predict the U.S. benchmark will be up more than 10 percent.
Still, their optimism waned from January, when almost 80 percent of advisers thought — correctly, as it turned out — that the S&P 500 would rise in the first six months of the year.
Advisers are particularly hopeful about energy stocks, with 44 percent flagging the sector as the best potential performer for the next six months, versus 21 percent who said the same in January. About 57 percent of advisers say it's "extremely" or "somewhat" unlikely that energy prices will slump into the winter.
The outlook for the materials and industrials sectors also got a boost, with about one in five advisers counting these as top places to put money over the next six months.
Meanwhile, technology and health care remained popular, a favorite among one in three respondents, although enthusiasm for these stocks was greater at the beginning of the year.
As to their portfolio allocation plans, investment professionals indicate they're not inclined to add to large-cap stocks in both the U.S. and developed international markets but would put more resources into small-cap stocks in emerging markets. They're also holding more cash.