Investor Confidence in U.S. Markets Holds Steady

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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According to the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) 6th Annual Main Street Investor Survey, about two-thirds of individual investors have at least some confidence in U.S. capital markets. That represents an increase of four percentage points from 2011.

Among the study’s other findings:

  • Investor confidence in investing in U.S. publicly traded companies held steady at 71% this year.
  • Since 2008, investor confidence in audited financial information has held steady at around 70%.
  • About 70% of investors believe that the American economy will either stay the same or improve over the next year.
  • Only 25% of investors expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next year, but 64% expect it to stay the same.
  • Confidence in capital markets outside the United States fell to a low of 35% from 43% in 2011.

Methodology: A telephone survey of 1,003 investors was conducted July 17 to 23, 2012, by The Glover Park Group. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2%. Investors were defined as those with investments valued at $10,000 or more.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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