Benefits April 16, 2007

Individuals' Investment Decisions Driven By Long-Term Strategies

April 12, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Individuals see investing as a long-term goal, rather than something that changes with stock market fluctuations, oil prices or political instability, a recent Edward Jones survey suggests.
Reported by

According to a press release on the survey, 55% of respondents said that issues such as political instability and inflation didn’t affect their savings or long-term investment strategy, with only 5% saying that oil prices made any impact on their decisions.

“Even though these issues dominate today’s headlines, investors seem to be taking a long-term approach to investing and have faith in future rewards,” said Alan Skrainka, Chief Market Strategist at the Missouri-based firm, in the press release. “For most, these issues aren’t driving their investment decisions.”

About 25% said the stock market directs their investment decisions and when looking at only working professionals, 21% said the market guides their decisions.

The study, which was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Edward Jones, also found that those investors with less money to invest find that changes in unemployment rates play the biggest factor in saving strategies (18%).


«