Over half of Americans don't invest in the stock market

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laureng...mericans-arent-investing-in-the-stock-market/

Why do you think this is? Lack of education perhaps?

 

Crap website refuses to work, so can't see what they wrote. But I doubt this, as most of your 401K and other similar retirement accounts hold different mutual funds, which of course invest in a variety of stocks and bonds etc. And as far as I know, such funds are pretty much mandatory if you plan on having a decent income after you quit working.

 

Love the over generalization in this article,

Really? Then at the end of the article there's a lovely S&P 500 charts that begs to differ. Guess those returns don't include the end of 2011. Overall though, it could be argued it is upward trending- I suppose- until the end of 2014 and now. I think that most people simply do not have the disposable income to use for investments. The world, and the way people live is very different then it used to be. Earnings are not keeping up with expenses and people are bombarded constantly by the media with things they should have or just plain want to have. It is not a good situation and bodes even worse for the future.

 

One of the pities report I had ever read today. It is sad to say millions of Americans lost trust to invest to buy stocks because of economic crisis, lack of education, uninformed and fear losing their money. But whatever reasons are there would be always its on toll. Americans need professional stock expert advice to explain everything on their behalf.

 

I agree with you. Most blue collar folks won't go near it, because they know nothing about it. I don't remember any course that is offered in high school or college that taught you the in's and out's of trading. It is a self motivated knowledge that has to be persued by the individuals need to learn more and growth.

I learned the forex market on my own. If there was a class out there that didn't charge an arm and a leg, I think I would have attended one.

 

But we aren't really talking about trading here, we are talking about investing. I understand that people don't really want to do trading because it takes time from other activities and requires you to really know what you are doing. But for the average joe who just needs to somehow save a little for retirement, all they really need to do is set up a monthly bank transfer for their broker and an automatic buying plan that will grab a few selected ETFs/mutual funds for them each payday. Not the best solution for people who enjoy finance but it's probably the most effortless way to invest. (and as long as those ETFs/mutual funds are decent you will profit in the long run)

 

This doesn't surprise me at all. To start with I don't feel there is much education about the stock market and apart from that I feel that people don't have that much capital to invest.

 

I understand and completely get why a lot of Americans do not invest in stock, and it is because of what has happened in the past with the market. I guess that it leaves more room for other people to invest freely, so I guess that is not all that bad.

 

I agree with that as well. Many people are scared of the things that they do not understand. Whenever I did not know much about the stock market, I was intimidated as well, so I completely understand what that feeling feels like.