There is very little certainty anymore about the American economy and financial prospects, with global trade remaining in flux and political matters weighing heavily upon every decision the American householder makes.

It is not surprising, therefore, that investors are uncertain how to proceed with their own financial decisions. Sometimes, the best alternative is to wait for matters to clear up and the preferred direction to become more obvious.

Every month, Spectrem asks investors with a net worth over $100,000 one question that indicates how economic and financial matters are impacting their lives. In October, the question was “What is the most significant change or action you plan to take over the next 12 months to improve your financial well-being?”

The answer for 32 percent of respondents was that the question does not apply to them. They intend to make no change in their investment decisions and portfolio allocations, perhaps waiting for some clarity to appear.

The questions are asked on a rotating basis, and three months ago, when the question was asked in July, 29 percent of investors had the “no change’’ response, so there is a greater percentage of investors who are holding tight.

The response with the biggest gain from July to October was “alter investment strategies.” It is unknown how investors plan to alter those strategies, but 20 percent said they planned to make some changes, up from 16 percent who responded that way in July.

Eleven percent of investors were specific about their intentions for the coming month, saying they intend to invest more. Nine percent went the other way, deciding to save more in the next year.

That range of answers seems to indicate that there is no one direction that appeals to all investors during this period. However, that’s 40 percent combined who intend to make some sort of change to respond to current economic and investment conditions.

There were a couple of key changes in responses to the question. Those that planned to save more dropped from 12 percent to 9 percent, and those who planned to pay down debt dropped from 10 percent to 6 percent.

 

 

©2019 Spectrem Group

 

 

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