Survey: Many Americans Afraid of Investing
37% of Americans surveyed are afraid of investing in the stock market. 43% of females surveyed are afraid of investing in the stock market compared to 31% of males, according to a new CreditDonkey.com survey.
LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fear of the unknown will stop most anyone in their tracks, even if a potential reward awaits them. In a new survey of more than 1,200 Americans by the personal finance website CreditDonkey.com, 46% of respondents revealed they are afraid of death and 37% of respondents said they are afraid of investing in the stock market.
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Survey results are at http://www.creditdonkey.com/afraid-investing.html
These fears might stem from the uncertainty over what comes next. Just over half (55%) of the respondents surveyed said they believe in life after death. And many of the respondents who said they are afraid of investing in stocks blamed their wariness on the high risk involved.
Lack of knowledge and lack of money to invest were other reasons mentioned. On top of those reasons is an overriding sense of skepticism. Many survey respondents are wary of putting their trust in brokers, corporations, and the entire system in general. "Rigged" was a commonly cited word.
Some 73% feel investing in the stock market is gambling while 31% think the stock market is rigged. However, 75% of the survey respondents still do believe investing in the stock market is a good idea, and 63% are likely to invest in stocks in the future.
Respondents' viewpoints on where to put their money fell along gender lines. Males are more likely than females to have faith in the stock market while females have a stronger belief in the banking system (78% of male respondents vs. 71% of female respondents believe in the stock market, and 69% of male respondents vs. 73% of female respondents believe in the banking system).
Another factor influencing respondents' viewpoints is their experience in recent years. Many respondents cited the uncertainty of current economic times and said they knew of people — such as their father, a friend, or simply themselves — who had been burned by investing in stocks.
Among the other findings in the CreditDonkey.com survey:
- 69% of male respondents plan to invest in stocks in the future vs. 57% of female respondents.
- 76% believe investing in mutual funds is a good idea, and 54% are likely to invest in mutual funds in the future (59% of male respondents plan to invest in mutual funds in the future vs. 50% of female respondents).
- 75% believe investing in bonds is a good idea, and 51% are likely to invest in bonds in the future (56% of male respondents plan to invest in bonds in the future vs. 47% of female respondents).
- 76% believe real estate is a good investment, and 56% are likely to invest in real estate in the future.
- 49% said real estate is a better investment than stocks (52% of female respondents vs. 46% of male respondents).
For more information on the survey, click here:
http://www.creditdonkey.com/afraid-investing.html
CreditDonkey.com conducted the online survey of 1,261 Americans, aged 18 and over, between February 23 and February 26, 2015.
CreditDonkey.com is a personal finance website that helps Americans save money and build wealth with tips, deals, and data-driven analysis. Visit http://www.creditdonkey.com/invest.html to learn how to get started in investing and build wealth.
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SOURCE CreditDonkey.com
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