GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- After more than five years of sustained growth in stock prices, the value of most stocks has been flat or even declined in the past year. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that only a small minority of stock market investors -- one in six -- say their stock investments have made money in the last year. Almost half of investors report losses in the value of their investments. Those who report such losses are most likely to blame themselves, but about one in five blame the media and slightly fewer blame stock analysts or financial advisors. When it comes to investing, stock market investors are equally as likely to say they trust themselves most as they are to say they trust stockbrokers most for information and advice.
According to the poll, conducted August 3-5, six in 10 Americans have money invested in the stock market now -- in an individual stock, a mutual fund, 401(k) or IRA. Nearly half of investors -- 48% -- say their stock market investments lost money in the last year. One in three say the value of their investments stayed even and just 17% report that they made money in the stock market. This is in sharp contrast to the previous time Gallup asked this question, in July 1997, when 76% of investors said their investments had made money in the past year, 20% said they stayed even, and only 2% said their investments lost money.
| Performance of Stock Investments in Last Year |
 |
| Aug. 3-5, 2001 |
Most Blame Themselves for Losses
Investors who lost money in the stock market in the past year were asked which source of information they blame most for their losses. The most frequent response, mentioned by one in three, was to blame themselves. About one in five (19%) blame the media and 13% blame independent stock analysts who work for investment firms. Just 12% blame their stockbroker or financial advisor, while 17% place the blame on some other source of information.
Thinking specifically about the people and institutions that you got investing information from in the past year, which of the following do you blame the most for your losses in the stock market -- [ROTATED: yourself, your broker or financial advisor, independent stock analysts who work for investment firms, or the media]?
BASED ON -- 335 -- STOCK MARKET INVESTORS WHO LOST MONEY LAST YEAR; ± 6 PCT. PTS.
|
Yourself |
Broker/ |
Stock |
|
OTHER |
No |
|
|
2001 Aug 3-5 |
33% |
12 |
13 |
19 |
17 |
6 |
|
(vol.) Volunteered response |
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Investors Trust Themselves and Stockbrokers or Financial Advisors Most for Investing Advice
When it comes to finding information or advice on investing, investors tend to trust themselves or a stockbroker or financial advisor the most. The poll finds that 40% say they trust a stockbroker or financial advisor most for information on investing, while 37% trust themselves the most. Only 12% say independent stock analysts are their most trusted source of information, and just 6% say this about the media.
Men and women differ in whom they trust most for investing advice. Men are about equally as likely to trust themselves most (39%) as they are to trust a broker or financial advisor (38%). Women, on the other hand, tend to put the most faith in brokers and financial advisors (42%) rather than in themselves (35%).
| Most Trusted Source of Information on Stock Market Investments, by Gender |
 |
| Aug. 3-5, 2001 |
There are even greater differences by age. Younger investors -- those below the age of 50 -- are more likely to say they trust themselves most (41%) rather than a stockbroker or financial advisor (35%). A much larger percentage of older investors, however, place the most faith in stockbrokers or financial advisors (47%) rather than in themselves (31%) when making investment decisions. Similar patterns of results are found among more- and less-educated investors and higher- and lower-income investors.
| Most Trusted Source of Information on Stock Market Investments, by Age |
 |
| Aug. 3-5, 2001 |
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,017 adults, 18 years and older, conducted August 3-5, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Do you personally or jointly with a spouse, have any money invested in the stock market right now -- either in an individual stock, a stock mutual fund, or in a self-directed 401-K or IRA?
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 Aug 3-5 |
61 |
38 |
1 |
|
2001 Apr 6-8 |
62 |
36 |
2 |
|
2001 Mar 14 ^ |
64 |
35 |
1 |
|
2000 May 5-7 |
54 |
44 |
2 |
|
2000 Apr 7-9 |
62 |
37 |
1 |
|
2000 Mar 10-12 |
61 |
37 |
2 |
|
2000 Jan 7-10 |
61 |
38 |
1 |
|
1999 Oct 21-24 |
60 |
39 |
1 |
|
1999 Sep 10-14 |
57 |
42 |
1 |
|
1999 Jun 4-5 |
57 |
42 |
1 |
|
1999 Apr 30-May 2 |
58 |
40 |
2 |
|
1999 Mar 12-14 |
61 |
39 |
* |
|
1998 Sep 1^ |
60 |
39 |
1 |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||
|
^ Based on one-night poll |
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Thinking about how your stocks have performed over the past year, would you say your investments made money, lost money or stayed about even over the past year?
BASED ON -- 670 -- STOCK MARKET INVESTORS; ± 4 PCT. PTS.
|
|
|
Stayed even |
No |
|
|
2001 Aug 3-5 |
17% |
48 |
33 |
2 |
|
1997 Jul 25-27 |
76% |
2 |
20 |
2 |
Which of the following do you trust most for information or advice on your investments in the stock market -- [ROTATED: Yourself, Your broker or financial advisor, Independent stock analysts who work for investment firms, (or) The media (or)]?
BASED ON -- 670 -- STOCK MARKET INVESTORS; ± 4 PCT. PTS.
|
Yourself |
Broker/ |
Stock |
Media |
OTHER |
No |
|
|
2001 Aug 3-5 |
37% |
40 |
12 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
(vol.) Volunteered response
