Even wealthy Americans are feeling gloomy about the future. More than half of affluent investors say they are pessimistic about stock market performance over the next year, according to a new survey.
Specific worries include a recession (61 percent), inflation exceeding portfolio returns (59 percent), having enough money to support their desired lifestyle (50 percent), and affording family healthcare costs (47 percent), an online survey by PNC Wealth Management and Harris Interactive found. Respondents included 781 workers with at least $150,000 of annual income and $500,000 or more in investable assets and 482 retirees with at least $1 million in investable assets.
But affluent investors aren't running scared from the stock market. About half of the typical wealthy investor's portfolio is in domestic stocks and mutual funds. They have made no significant changes to their portfolios since the survey was conducted last year.
How the wealthy allocate their portfolio
| Domestic Stocks | 25 percent |
| Mutual Funds | 24 percent |
| Cash | 15 percent |
| Bonds | 12 percent |
| International stocks | 8 percent |
| Investment real estate | 8 percent |
| Private Equity Funds | 2 percent |
| Exchange Traded Funds | 1 percent |
| Hedge Funds | 1 percent |
| Other | 5 percent |
Source: PNC Wealth Management, 2008.
When asked to pick the sectors that have the best chance for gains in 2009, wealthy investors largely chose energy/utilities (66 percent), technology (51 percent), and healthcare (46 percent). Unsurprisingly, only 19 percent of affluent investors think the financial sector will do well, down from 29 percent last year.
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