Where do you think the best options for long-term investments reside? Gold? Silver? Paintings? Maybe postage stamps? Gallup Inc. recently asked 1,012 Americans this very question. The results…35% said real estate. 14% said gold. 15% said savings accounts and CDs. And 5% said bonds. A disturbingly low 27% thought the best option to grow their long-term wealth was stocks and mutual funds. With about a quarter of the surveyed population answering correctly, it's clear that the education of proper investing needs to be increased throughout the nation, across all age groups.
Since the traditional three-legged stool of retirement planning has been dwindled down to a pogo stick, these young people who are relying heavily on savings accounts, CDs or even bonds for their long-term investments are likely to come away with a retirement diet of Ramen noodles. It is important to teach everyone that in order to have a reasonable chance at accumulating enough wealth for retirement, one needs some exposure to the stock market. Because as we've said many times before, investor returns are directly derived from the risk they take. And if investors sit in low to no-risk savings accounts, where will the return come from? Compound that problem with the steady rise of inflation eroding the spending power of their hard earned dollars, their lack of 401k contributions and taking advantage of employer matching…Stuffing money under the mattress brings with it dire consequences.
Here at Index Fund Advisors, we are passionate about investment education and matching people of all ages with the right portfolios suited for their appropriate risk capacity. Fortunately, it's not only what we do, it's who we are. IFA is the investment education destination.
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