Private investors are becoming increasingly worried by market volatility, with a study showing 21% who reviewed their portfolios over the summer shifting money out of equities and into more cautious investments such as bonds or cash.

This dash for stability was found by Lloyds TSB Wealth Management, whose survey also discovered rising pessimism about the future of shares, with 36% of investors feeling apprehensive about the coming 12 months.

The survey puts the blame for worsening sentiment firmly at the door of the the credit crunch and revealed that most (31%) of those who moved money around did so on the back of newspaper and television coverage.

The survey quizzed 1,133 people who either currently own stocks (820 people) or have owned shares in the past six months. It was carried out between 30 October and 7 November and the average amount invested was £51,380.

Of those quizzed, 397 people

had reviewed their portfolios in the previous three months. Against the 21% who moved into less-risky assets, 17% kept their stock market investments the same while investing new money elsewhere.

There was a group of people who took an opportunistic approach however, with 9% of respondents investing more money in equities seeing the summer dip as a buying opportunity.