Are You Scared of the Stock Market?
Sep 16th, 2010 by Carlos
There were a couple of interesting stories in the “papers” yesterday that I are worth mentioning. An AP-CNBC poll found that 55% of investors feel the market is only fair to some investors and that they don’t have confidence in buying and selling stocks. I understand that the flash crash spooked a lot of people, but take a look at what people are feeling:
Wild gyrations on Wall Street have made U.S investors leery of buying individual stocks and skeptical that the market is a fair place to park their money.
A random Joe on the street chimed in with some pearls of wisdom:
I don’t have any confidence in the stock market, to be honest. It’s just a gut feeling.
Gut feeling my ass—I’m guessing it has more to do with the intense media coverage (Will Stocks go to Zero??) and the uncertainty surrounding the flash crash. But as I read the story it almost felt like I was reading a news item from the Guatemalan papers: there’s a deep distrust/paranoia going on here.
People actually think that the stock market is/was rigged and they don’t stand a chance at making any money unless they are “in the know.” It’s a conspiracy!
Presumably, the people that are “in the know” are rich people. Not millionaires, but billionaires.
Which leads me to the other story I read that was pretty interesting. This one’s from the Wall Street Journal and it’s all about where those billionaires are putting their money right now.
What was surprising about the lunch was where the attendees are putting their money. Topping the list were vacant office buildings, farmland and Africa. Stocks look attractive, but the attendees pointed out that no one has made money investing in the indexes for 12 years.
I was thinking about all these things and then it hit me: just ask people what they’re feeling. So I’m doing that: are you guys scared of investing in stocks right now? Why? Do you believe the system is rigged? How much of a role in what you feel does the flash crash play and the fact that we still don’t have an answer?
Image by Capture Queen
