20 years of Sentiment - sentix celebrates a very special anniversary!
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24 February 2021
Posted in
sentix Intern
What started on 23 February 2001 in the middle of the internet bubble with an idea and 50 survey participants, celebrates its twentieth birthday today: Under the motto "sentix - feel the markets", the sentix Global Investor Survey has been recording the mood curves of investors for two decades now. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 investors from over 20 countries participate in the sentix survey.
- Investor sentiment can be measured almost in real time
- Speed and relevance deliver decisive added value
- More than 5,000 registered investors use the "first mover
The birth
The idea for sentix was born in the middle of one of the biggest speculative bubbles in stock market history, the internet bubble. There was a lot of talk about "irrational exuberance", but how could such a thing be measured and used for investment decisions? "Sentiment analysis was still in its infancy at the time. There was no reasonable data," sentix inventor Manfred Hübner describes his dilemma at the time. "So we had to fill the gap ourselves!"
Since February 2001, sentix GmbH has been surveying professional and private investors from over 20 countries as part of the Global Investor Survey. In the meantime, the sentix survey has become one of the largest and most widely observed capital surveys worldwide. Since then, investors have been asked about their capital market assessments every week. In 20 years, this has resulted in a considerable number: Well over 1,000 surveys have been conducted since then. The result is one of the largest databases on investor behaviour worldwide.
Stock market history shapes the pulse of the investor
Over the years, there have been a number of defining events and political issues that have caused enormous market turbulence. The bursting of the internet bubble in 2001 - 2003 and its subsequent impact on the economy, the financial crisis with the subsequent euro crisis or even the recent Corona crash. All episodes were accompanied by strong emotional swings and pro-cyclical investor behaviour. On the other hand, the longest bull market of all time emerged during this period, fuelled by an interest rate environment whose level no investor ever dared to dream of.
To this day, the back and forth on the stock exchanges creates strong emotionality. Investors' nerves are particularly strained at market turning points. Whenever the sentiment was extremely one-sided, the anti-cyclical investor could profit especially from the sentix indicators.
With the sentix survey, investor behaviour was systematically recorded and quantitatively evaluated over time. Each stock market phase has thus created its own emotional fingerprint. From the twenty-year data history, it is now possible to statistically prove the power behind emotions.
Professionals rely on sentiment analysis
It is therefore not surprising that renowned institutions at home and abroad, banks, insurance companies, asset managers, but also central banks and hedge funds, now obtain the data and take it into account in their own decisions.
Especially in recent years, when fundamental certainties have tended to diminish, the importance of the human factor in the markets has lost none of its explosiveness and topicality. "Anyone who ignores sentiment in investment is missing an essential piece in the solution of the market puzzle," sentix CEO Hübner is convinced.
Application in asset management
But not only data clients use sentix expertise. With sentix Asset Management, sentix has its own investment boutique at the start, which manages its customers' money successfully, contrarily and consistently. sentix is therefore not an academic ivory tower project, but was designed from the beginning by practice for practice. The results are impressive. In recent years, both the sentix makers and the funds have received several awards for their management services and performance.
Survey delivers added value
Continuity, transparency and a high user benefit characterise the sentix survey. But what do investors value most? First and foremost is the weekly sentiment analysis, which many investors can hardly imagine their regular market monitoring without. The survey participant receives the commentary free of charge. The very broad spectrum of investment markets and the speed of the survey are often cited as the main arguments.
In addition, investors appreciate the long-term history of the data series, which makes it possible to compare the current situation with historical trends. Many investors also recognise in the aggregated sentiment a reflection on their own attitude. Do I really think contrarily or am I part of the masses after all? The survey results relentlessly hold up a mirror.
Participate and profit
Well over 5,000 investors have already registered on the platform, including more than 1,100 institutional investors with assets under management of over 600 billion euros. This way, private investors can also find out where the big money is flowing and how the professionals think.
One thing is certain: only those who participate can profit. The participant does not enter into any obligations, permanent participation is not a must. They too can "feel the markets" with sentix.
