Investopedia 2016 Financial State of the Union Addresses Markets, Retirement and Elections

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Investopedia, the web's premier source of trusted financial content, today released its Financial State of the Union report outlining a 2016 outlook based on 2015 market trends. Led by Investopedia CEO David Siegel and its team of data scientists, Investopedia has assembled a projection on key 2016 events and trends based on investor data and sentiment analysis across a variety of sectors.

"2016 is slated to be a year of change, with the presidential elections looming and interest rates on the rise. Investors are rightfully nervous about what lies ahead," comments David Siegel, CEO of Investopedia. "Our 2016 projections are based on hundreds of thousands of data points related to investor interest and sentiment and provide fascinating indications as to what this year may yield for the markets overall."

This data is also supported by a new index created by Investopedia to better understand investor sentiment. The Investopedia Anxiety Index tracks the uncertainty of investors over time. "By aggregating terms that historically spike during times of financial uncertainty, we have been able to create an index to track investor fears," commented Ronnie Jansson, Chief Data Scientist at Investopedia. "Since the index is based on data coming directly from our tens of millions of users, it can help us predict how they will behave elsewhere -- be it in the markets or in voting booths."

According to David Siegel, "Examples of some of the top terms included in Investopedia's Anxiety Index include, 'Bankruptcy, Default, Insolvency, Liquidation.' Investopedia is the ultimate source for users researching these terms and its traffic patterns present particularly unique learnings."

The Investopedia 2016 Financial State of the Union makes predictions on four main issues of interest to investors this year, including:

• Trump won't win: Right-wing parties generally outperform during times of heightened fear in the market. Despite recent gyrations in the market, the Investopedia Anxiety Index shows that financial anxiety is too low to predict a Trump win.
  • The Anxiety Index is 30% lower than it was in 2011, before the elections.
• Oil and commodities: Oil prices dropped dramatically throughout 2015 but are likely to bottom out over the next couple months and will start to rebound in Q2 of 2016.
  • Speculative interest in oil has dropped 70% since its peak at the beginning of 2015.
• Retirement: Baby boomers will continue to worry about Social Security benefits while millennials explore retirement alternatives.
  • Students and recent graduates have shown a 100% increase in interest since the beginning of 2015.
• Interest rates rising: Investor sentiment suggests modest and infrequent rate hikes for 2016.
  • Interest in bonds has decreased almost 50% since 2013.

The Investopedia 2016 Financial State of the Union provides a forward-looking viewpoint on market trends based on the thousands of data points aggregated through Investopedia's instrumental position as a trusted financial resource. The full report can be found here.

About Investopedia:

Investopedia is the world's leading source of financial content on the web with over 20 million unique visitors and 60 million page views each month. From early investors to financial advisors and high net worth individuals, readers depend on Investopedia as a trusted resource for accurate, timely content. Backed by a team of data scientists and financial experts, Investopedia creates the most relevant and actionable financial information for every investor. Investopedia is wholly owned by IAC and is operated by IAC Publishing, a collection of some of the web's largest and most trusted digital media brands. For the latest in financial news and information, visit Website - http://www.investopedia.com/

SOURCE Investopedia

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