It’s been one of the rockiest starts ever for the stock market in 2022, and economic turbulence has Americans reacting in numerous ways, according to a Bankrate survey. Less than 1 in 5 (18 percent) U.S. adults with retirement or investment accounts say they will invest more in 2022 than they did in 2021. And many investors say they’re purposely not taking any action.
A total of 56 percent of U.S. investors said they had purposely not made any moves in response to the market’s volatility. Similarly, about 62 percent of respondents said they had intentionally not made any moves to their investments because of high inflation.
But younger investors are much more likely to say they’ll increase their investments this year, compared to last year. More than 43 percent of Generation Z (ages 18-25) say they’ll add “much more” or “somewhat more” to their investments in 2022. Meanwhile, only about 8 percent of baby boomers (ages 58-76) say they’ll be adding more to their investment accounts in 2022.
“Gen Z and millennial investors willing to invest more in stocks this year, despite market volatility and inflation, can see greater long-term reward for the discipline of hanging on and buying more at lower price points,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst.
Bankrate surveyed 3,658 U.S. adults about their investments, revealing these top findings.
Key takeaways:
Most U.S. investors have intentionally made no moves in response to higher stock market volatility or inflation
Both inflation and volatility have been at extremes in 2022, but many consumers are saying they’re intentionally not touching their investments in response to those concerns.
In response to market volatility:
- More than half (56 percent) of stock investors said they purposely have not taken any action so far in 2022.
- About 14 percent said they had purchased more stock this year.
- Nearly 16 percent said that they had sold stock investments or withheld further contributions from them in 2022.
- Almost 15 percent of respondents said they were unaware of the heightened volatility in the stock market.
With inflation near multidecade highs – a blistering 8.3 percent in the April 2022 report – many Americans have decided to simply stay the course with their investments.
In response to high inflation:
- A strong majority (nearly 62 percent) of stock investors said they intentionally made no changes to their portfolio.
- More than 13 percent said that they had contributed more to their stock-related investments.
- About 14 percent said that they had moved money out of stock-related investments or had refrained from buying more.
- Almost 11 percent said they weren’t aware of higher inflation.
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Source: https://www.bankrate.com/investing/survey-market-volatility-stocks-may-2022/