The chief investment officers of BlackRock and Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia are among 16 who are more pessimistic about markets than they were a year ago and are particularly concerned about China and Europe, according to a Financial Services Council survey of CIOs.

“Responses indicate that CIOs are less confident than 12 months ago,” the FSC says in a statement. “The most significant risk factors are failure to resolve European debt problems and risk of a slowdown in China.”

The FSC CIO investment index is at 20, down from 25 a year ago. The index range is -100 to 100 with a score of zero considered neutral.

China’s long-term political stability if the global economy slows and the unwinding of debt in the U.S. and Europe are perceived as the biggest risks over the next five years, according to the survey.

“Australian and international equities are expected to outperform other asset classes,” says the survey. “Price earnings ratios are good and corporate balance sheets are strong.”

International fixed income and property investments were rated the worst asset classes by the CIOs.