Investor Sentiment Showing Signs of Stability

BOSTON, Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Investor sentiment has remained stable since the third quarter of 2013, according to the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index®, a quarterly measure of investors' views on a range of investment choices, life goals, and economic outlook. For the third quarter of 2014, the Index score remained at +23, as it has for each quarter to date of 2014. For the fourth quarter of 2013 and the third quarter of 2013, the Index score was +22 and +20, respectively.  The positive score in these recent quarters has been driven by investors' optimistic views toward investing in stocks, balanced mutual funds comprised of stocks and bonds, and stock mutual funds.

The John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index® reflects the percentage of investors who say they believe it is a "good" or "very good" time to invest, minus those who feel the opposite. The third quarter survey was conducted in late August.

"In many key areas of their economic lives, such as investing in stocks and mutual funds, buying a house and saving for retirement, investors are indicating a positive outlook and have done so for more than a year," said Megan Greene, Chief Economist, John Hancock Asset Management.  "Half of the investors surveyed also felt they are in a better financial position compared with two years ago, and half expect their situation will continue to improve in the years ahead. This measure has remained steady for the past four quarters too."

Forty-one percent of those currently working (not retired) say that saving for retirement is their most important financial priority. Investors' sentiment toward investing in retirement plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs is overwhelmingly positive with 83 percent and 81 percent, respectively, saying now is a good time to put funds away. Also popular with investors are Target Risk funds and Target Date Funds, with 42 percent and 41 percent holding positive views of those asset allocation funds.

The future is not without worry, however, investors say. Political gridlock in Washington, DC and the cost of healthcare continue to be issues of great concern, with 54 percent of investors saying they are "very" concerned.  Sixty-four percent worry about being able to afford high-quality health care, and 57 percent worry about being able to afford nursing or long-term care if needed.

Four in ten investors (41 percent) are very concerned about the unrest in the Middle East. The percentage greatly concerned about this topic has increased significantly from the end of 2013 when 29 percent were very concerned.

About the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey

John Hancock's Investor Sentiment Survey is a quarterly poll of affluent investors.  The survey measures investors' feelings about the current economic climate and their evaluations of what represents a good or bad investment given the current environment.  The poll also asks consumers about their confidence in reaching key financial goals and their attitudes toward specific financial products and services. This online survey was conducted by independent research firm Greenwald & Associates.  A total of 1,203 investors were surveyed from August 11th to August 22nd, 2014.  To qualify, respondents were required to participate at least to some extent in their household's financial decision-making process, have a household income of at least $75,000, and assets of $100,000 or more.  The data were weighted by age and education to reflect the population of Americans matching the survey's qualification requirements. In a similarly-sized random sample survey, the margin of error would be plus or minus 2.88 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.  Due to rounding and missing categories, numbers presented may not always total to 100 percent.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife

John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$637 billion (US$597 billion) as at June 30 2014. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments,  401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Financial