President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday morning, congratulating the United States of America for the S&P 500 Index hitting an all-time high.
S&P 500 HITS ALL-TIME HIGH Congratulations USA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2018
Great news indeed but, according to a recent report by Betterment, about two-thirds of Americans either believe the market hasn’t gone up at all — or has actually gone down — since the 2008 financial crisis.
That is a staggering number considering the S&P 500 is in fact up 200 percent since 2008 and we are in the midst of the longest bull market run in history.
The report, compiled after polling about 2,000 people, shows the financial crisis is still fresh in the minds of consumers today, and most of them remain deeply distrustful of Wall Street.
Many people also are still struggling to get their finances back in order, and about 65 percent say they’ve yet to fully recover.
Via Betterment:
- 15 percent reported their employer either stopped sponsoring or matching their 401(k).
- 27 percent either stopped saving for retirement or contributing to their 401(k), and 14 percent continued to save by only in cash.
- 29 percent said they are making a concerted effort to save more today than in 2008. Though, that increase in savings does not translate into higher investments. In fact, only 10 percent said they invest more today than they did in 2008, compared with 66 percent who said they invest less.
The study also showed that nearly 80 percent of survey respondents estimated they lost as much as $50,000 in the stock market as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.
Here’s the scary statistic alluded to earlier:
According to those surveyed, 48 percent of people don’t think the market has gone up at all since 2008, while 18 percent believe it has in fact gone down.
That’s a lot of folks who have missed out on a historic stock market rally.
Sadly, with the market reaching all-time highs, now is when many may decide to finally get back into the markets, just in time for the next correction.
Ed note: Have you fully recovered from the 2008 financial crisis? Are you back in the stock market, or will you never buy another stock after the collapse? Let us know in the comments below.