The index gauges the outlook of respondents on multiple financial measures over a six-month period. Despite remaining fairly confident about the future outlook of their personal financial situation and the health of their employer, affluent consumers are now more pessimistic than they were in December 2009 about the stock market, the value of their investments, and the general outlook for the U.S. Economy. More dramatically, the percentage that is confident that the stock market will perform at the same level or at a better level in the near term has declined from 81% in December 2009 to 65% in May 2010.
According to Ellen Sills-Levy, Vice President - Investment Industry research - TNS, "This most recent Investor confidence finding is not surprising in the context of the European credit crisis, the May 6 Dow 'technical anomaly', the volatility of the world stock markets, Americans' concerns about the creation of new jobs, the unemployment level, the budget deficit and investor inertia. (According to the Federal Reserve, as of May 10 money on the sidelines in bank and money market accounts had reached $9.36 trillion, compared to $7.44 trillion in May 2007.) This is obviously a time when investors need financial advisors and firms that they can trust—advisors they perceive to working in tandem with them and on their behalf."
