NU Online News Service, Oct. 11, 12:14 p.m. – Bad news is shaking consumer confidence and making financial advice more valuable to the average investor, according to research from the Financial Planning Association, Atlanta.
Sixty-three percent of Americans do not feel that America's financial, government and regulatory systems "protect people like me" against investment losses and accounting fraud, the nationwide survey of 1,015 adults found.
Thirty-one percent of the survey participants told researchers that they do not believe that they will ever again feel confident about their financial prospects.
FPA researchers conducted the survey in September, as the market was sliding. Fifty-eight percent of the participants said they were "somewhat" or "not very" confident about their financial future.
Forty-six percent of the men were "very confident" about their financial future, but only 34% of the women were very confident.
The study found that three in 10 consumers are more likely to seek professional financial help than they were a year ago.
FPA also conducted a focus group follow-up survey.
