We’re In A Bull Market But That Doesn’t Mean Everyone’s Benefiting; Be Smart

If there’s one thing President Trump loves to do, it’s speak very highly of how great things are. There’s no other topic of greatness that he refers to most other than our great country, America. But sifting through the touting, can we clearly state that all of America is benefiting from one of the biggest bull markets we’ve ever seen? Many would say no.

According to a Gallup survey in April, there are only 54% of Americans who have money invested in the market. This investment is made on a general basis and includes individual stocks, mutual funds, and retirement plans like a 401(k). Now, the figures are a bit staggering when you look at this figure from the period before the “Great Recession.” In fact, according to reports, this number is down from 65% at that time. The S&P 500 has grown by nearly 400% and the Dow continues to set new highs.

Lower income Americans can’t feel the benefits. Why? Besides having, by definition, no extra money to do more than pay for living expenses, it has been found by Gallup that just 21% of people with household income of less than thirty thousand dollars per year own stocks in some shape or form.

Nearly all wealthier Americans making at least one hundred thousand dollars were seen to own stocks; eighty-nine percent according to the poll. This figure increases by another three percent when looking at the richest twenty percent of Americans according to research from NYU economist Edward Wolff.

“If you’re a coal miner in West Virginia without a 401(k) or stock market exposure, you don’t care about all-time highs,” said Andres Garcia-Amaya, global market strategist at independent wealth management firm Zoe Financial. “It’s easy for us sitting in New York to look at the market and say everyone is doing well. The reality is that a huge portion of the population is not participating in this.”

What has been interesting, however is that this same risk aversion from groups like millennials has helped to keep the market heading higher. Continuous skepticism about the bull market has prevented the type of joy that in the past has inflated a bubble that ended in broken dreams.

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