Americans Losing Faith in Stock Markets

Folks selling them off for fifth year in a row

Andrew Neitlich is the last person you'd expect to be rattled by the stock market.

He once worked as a financial analyst picking stocks for a mutual fund. He has huddled with dozens of CEOs in his current career as an executive coach. During the dot-com crash 12 years ago, he kept his wits and did not sell.

But he's selling now.

"You have to trust your government. You have to trust other governments. You have to trust Wall Street," says Neitlich, 47. "And I don't trust any of these."

Defying decades of investment history, ordinary Americans are selling stocks for a fifth year in a row. The selling has not let up despite unprecedented measures by the Federal Reserve to persuade people to buy and the come-hither allure of a levitating market. Stock prices have doubled from March 2009, their low point in the Great Recession.

Comments

[Jesus H. Christ]

Let's see, an equity-destroying bubble in the 90's, then 9/11, then real estate crash, Lehman's goes under, both Republican and Democrat administrations rob the middle class and give the money to bankers and unions. Most corporate boards are comprised of high level managers from other companies. Since it's the board that sets management salaries, the only hope of getting executive pay in line with reality is for institutional investors (the ones who hold most stock) to elect boards with an interest in fiscal responsibility. That ain't happening. The stock market is overall an ugly place for individual investors.

[johnl]

Conspiracy of dunces.

[Sevo]

"Since it's the board that sets management salaries, the only hope of getting executive pay in line with reality"

"Reality" You use that word but I'm not sure you know what it means.
Regardless, if the US public is losing confidence in the equities market, you'd expect the sell-off to start a bear run. Not seeing it.

[Jesus H. Christ]

CEO's with poor performance can decimate a stock, and yet they get paid staggering sums for their failure. That's not healthy. No, I don't expect the guvmint to do anything about it, but executive compensation is out of hand.

[Adam330]

"Defying decades of investment history, ordinary Americans are selling stocks for a fifth year in a row."

What does this even mean? For every seller, there's a buyer? Are you saying the buyers are not "ordinary Americans?" Are they non-ordinary? Or foreigners?