Even with stock market highs, the majority of Americans are cautious about investing, according to a Bankrate study.
“Although the Fed is trying to push investors into riskier assets in pursuit of better returns, individual investors aren’t biting,” said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst.
The 76 percent who prefer to invest in savings accounts and CDs rather than stocks is the same amount as last year, showing no increase in investor confidence.
Lower-income households were those least likely to invest in the stock market due to low interest rates.
Despite the low confidence in investing, consumers said they feel more confident in finances than they did last year, according to the study.
There are five components of the Financial Security Index: savings, job security, net worth, debt and overall financial situation. Of these five areas, savings is the only area that consumers feel less comfortable with than the year previous.
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