Dow hits 15000 as percentage of Americans owning stocks hits a low. Why?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2013/0508/Dow-hits-15000-but-percentage-of-Americans-owning-stocks-hits-a-low.-Why



Barely half of Americans, 52 percent, now say they own stock outright or as part of a mutual fund or self-directed retirement account, Gallup reports. That's a 15-year low point.

Dow hits 15000 as percentage of Americans owning stocks hits a low. Why?
By Mark Trumbull, Staff writer / May 8, 2013

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed for the first time above 15000 Tuesday, a new poll finds that the percentage of Americans who own stocks stands at a 15-year low point.

Barely half of Americans, 52 percent, now say they own stock outright or as part of a mutual fund or self-directed retirement account, the polling group Gallup reported Wednesday.

The level has been falling for six straight annual surveys, even though US stocks have more than doubled in value since hitting a recession low point in 2009.

~snip~

The still-high rate of unemployment acts as both a financial and psychological barrier, many market analysts say. People without jobs generally don’t have extra money to invest, while many working Americans may be weighed down by feelings of job insecurity.

[cantbeserious]

1. A Significant Fraction Of Wall Street Trading Is Now Computer-To-Computer

Individual investors can no longer compete.

[Demeter]

2. Workers have been impoverished by the Corporations who don't pay them

and especially the Wall St. Banksters, who steal the little workers have saved and invested.

Without disposable income (that income which is not spent to keep body and soul together for one more day) there are no savings to invest. And with the markets behaving as roulette wheels, and fixed ones at that, there is no incentive to invest in stocks.

The only way out is: a complete crash, dismemberment and re-regulation of the banks, unionizing of the workers, purging the wholly-owned legislators and judges out of government, free, fair, verifiable and transparent elections, or a bloody revolution.

At this point, our working options have narrowed dangerously....

[LiberalLoner]

4. +1

[golfguru]

17. Yap. it does not make any difference...repugs or democrats in charge

they are all in the pockets of Bankers & Corporations. The middle class will
get screwed either way.

Until we get 100% tax payer funded elections, nothing is going to change.
Term limits will help some also.

[AnnieK401]

3. Another Obama failure !

He can't even tank the stock market to destroy Capitalism like the RW accuses him of.[

[AnnieK401]

5. Here's a link:

[link:http://wonkette.com/515607/wingnut-group-wants-to-impeach-obama-for-wrecking-stock-market-dow-hits-new-record|

[OmahaBlueDog]

6. Read the question carefully..

Barely half of Americans, 52 percent, now say they own stock outright or as part of a mutual fund or self-directed retirement account, Gallup reports. That's a 15-year low point.

More and more Americans don't participate in self-directed accounts or directly buy mutual funds; however, they do very often have a few percent of their salary directed into a 401 K. I don't think, the way this question was phrased, that most 401 K participants would answer "yes" to this question. They rarely can self direct, and often have limited control over where the funds can be invested. However, many Americans participate in the market in this manner.

[golfguru]

18. 401-k's are 99% invested in stocks

Weather it is self directed or employer run, it is in some form of stock ownership.
I have to assume all those people are counted in that 52%.

The real problem is half of the workers do not have any money left to contribute to 401-k's or IRA's.

[davidthegnome]

7. Lessons from the 20s....

would indicate that it's maybe not a terribly good idea to prop up the stock market by just throwing money, money - and more money at it. Maybe it also suggests that if people are so broke they have to borrow money from banks to invest in stocks... well, the market is not likely to see ever expanding growth, where things will somehow just keep magically getting better even when so many people are hungry.

How much money is the fed pouring into stocks to give the appearance of a strong market? I've got a bad feeling about this...

[Fuddnik]

8. And stocks purchased on margin are at historic levels.

The same historic levels they reached 3 months before the 2008 crash.

One big hiccup, and it turns into a disastrous feedback loop.

[bemildred]

9. The markets were disconnected from the real economy 30 years ago and more. nt

[Dawgs]

10. 52% actually sounds high to me. I expected lower.

Especially with all of the Wall Street and 401K hate I've seen lately.

[KurtNYC]

13. that percentage is coming from Federal Reserve and seems way high

Charles Schwab, the country's largest broker has about 8 million accounts. E-Trade: 2.7 million. TD Trade: 5.5 mil Scottrade: 800,000

Ballpark number, rolling up all of those and assuming no overlap (which there surely is): 16.5 million accounts or 5.1% of the US population.

Likely they have some loose definition of "owns stocks" and are rolling in all the employees who contribute to pension funds (or looser, employees of companies and government entities who have pension funds), and similar company-controlled assets.

Many of the most profitable companies in America are NOT publicly traded, for example PWC. Also, the capitalization of all the stock markets in the world in 2008 was only $36.6 trillion USD compared to the total value of the derivatives market that year at $791 trillion. Publicly traded stocks are about the size of a pimple on the elephant which is mortgage, bonds, private assets and derivatives.

[AnneD]

11. I see the glass as almost half full.....

48% of Americans refuse to take their savings to the casino.

The reasons:

Decades of stagnant wages.
High frequency trading always rigged to the disadvantage of the small investor.
Lack of legal recourse and/or punishment against those involved in blatant theft...MF Global being the most blatant.

[abelenkpe]

12. ...

"People without jobs generally don’t have extra money to invest, while many working Americans may be weighed down by feelings of job insecurity"

Never had a pension, never had a 401k match, have seen my paltry 401k crash not once but twice, high frequency trading, no interest on savings....

Gen x and gen y are speeding down the highway en route to a future where no one can retire listening to very important people tell us to sacrifice more and save more in a world where that is virtually impossible.

Good times.

[Warpy]

14. All those QE dollars just went into the pockets of the very few

and that's why the Dow is flying high. Those few don't need to spend all that money to live on, and I'm sure new pleasure palaces aren't that appealing any more, it means more travel, so they buy stocks and hyperinflate the market.

Stocks produce even more income for them and they kid themselves that means they're still being productive.

And that, Virginia, is why the libertarian wet dream of triple digit inflation never materialized. Barely enough money got circulated to keep things from deflating faster. Since the ultra rich grabbed the rest, the only things that inflated were the stock market and fine art at auction houses.

[cantbeserious]

15. + 1,000,000 - The 1% Contribution To The Illusion Of Our Economy

eom

[raouldukelives]

16. Maybe people have finally got tired of profiting from making things worse?

I mean, you can only make so much money off climate change, slave labor, toppling nations, fracking and collapsing factories before you say to yourself "Is this really what I want my legacy to be?".
Do you want to live a life that makes things better for tomorrow or invest in Wall St? Can't do both.