Nearly nine out of ten Irish investors are optimistic about their personal finances, a new survey has found.

In the RaboDirect Investor Barometer of 555 investors, 84pc of those surveyed said they are optimistic about their personal finances, up from 81pc at the time of the last barometer, November 2014.

Confidence in the Irish economy is higher than confidence in the global economy, though both have slipped. Some 89pc of Irish investors said they are confident about the Irish economy over the next three months, down from 91pc in November 2014.

Fewer investors remain favourably disposed to the global stock market. Just 56pc said they think there is value to be found in stocks, down 7pc on the last barometer. When asked which particular sectors investors would be watching out for over the remainder of 2015, 28pc indicated the technology sector, 18pc said healthcare, 14pc said the financial sector and 13pc said investments in commodities, followed by sustainability-related investments (12pc).

Investor confidence in the Irish property market fell sharply, from 67pc to 57pc.

"The growing influence of technology in our daily lives and in replacing jobs through software and robots means some of the best returns available today are in technology investment," said RaboDirect's head of investments Killian Nolan.

Irish Independent