World investors' cash holdings highest since 2012: Reuters poll

World investors increased cash holdings in January as they braced for a choppy year with markets buffeted by conflicting forces such as diverging monetary policy and rising geopolitical risks, a Reuters poll shows. A monthly survey of fund managers in the United States, Japan, Europe and Britain found the average allocation to cash in balanced portfolios jumped 1-1/2 percentage points to 7 percent -- the highest since May 2012. Holdings of property were down to 1.9 percent from 2.6 percent while exposure to alternative assets, such as hedge funds and private equity, rose to 6.4 percent from 5.3 percent. The polling period was dominated by the European Central Bank's announcement last week that it would start buying bonds under a 1 trillion euro quantitative easing program from March with the aim of stimulating euro zone growth and inflation.

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