July saw a ‘surprising reshuffle’ in country risk as France took over from Spain, according to the European Fund Manager Survey, carried out by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Overall, views on Europe improved and the degree of concern has fallen since the last month. But the debt-ridden continent is still a major concern for fund managers.
Of those surveyed, 59% rated the eurozone sovereign funding crisis as the largest tail risk, down from 65% last month.
The US fiscal cliff follows with 19%, up from 16% last month.
“This month there was a surprising reshuffle in assessment of country risks within Europe, with France taking over from Spain (and Greece) on the potential of negative surprises,” said Gary Baker, European equity strategist.
“The biggest spike in possible negative surprises over the month was in Germany.”
Ireland, on the other hand, was the only country where investors expected possibility of positive surprises.
©2012 funds europe