* For 2007 wealthy private investors are thinking globally, according to the Institute for Private Investors. Its latest survey showed 70 percent of investors intend to increase their investment internationally, and almost half plan to allocate more to private equity.
* The survey results state that 38 percent of investors have an increased interest in hedge funds and fund of funds, and 26 percent intent to move into real estate investments.
* A majority of those surveyed – 6 out of 10 – said they would stay with the same investment allocation in 2007, and 68 percent said they expected their portfolios to do the same or better compared to the last two years.
* As far as return results, the average expected portfolio return was 9.05 percent, which falls well below Standard & Poor’s 500, which returned 13.62 percent in 2006.
* Investors who had portfolio returns in line with the 2006 average estimated an average return of 9.1 percent.