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The coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc with investors' optimism in the second quarter, yet their long-term outlook remained mainly upbeat, according to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup investor and retirement optimism index.
The index fell 134 points in the second quarter to +4, by far the biggest short-term drop since its inception and its lowest point since the 2013 fourth quarter.
The index was based on a Gallup Panel web study completed in mid-May by 1,076 U.S. adult investors. The index has an adjusted baseline score of 100 from its establishment in October 1996. It peaked at +152 in January 2000, and hit a low of -81 in February 2009.
Investors' second-quarter optimism was down on all economic components of the index. Optimism fell most on unemployment, 34 points, and on economic growth, 26 points.
On personal components that make up the index, investors' outlook for reaching their 12-month investment targets plunged 32 points.
At the same time, their longer-term outlook remained intact, with two-thirds of respondents saying they continued to be optimistic about reaching their five-year investment goals.
Despite the index's unprecedented second-quarter collapse, six in 10 investors said now was a good time to invest in the financial markets.
Sixty-nine percent of investors said they felt somewhat or very confident about investing in the stock market as a way to build wealth for retirement.
The report noted that this percentage was unchanged from a year ago.
About half of investors said now was a time to hold the shares they had and wait for the market to come back, while more than a third saw it as a buying opportunity.
Only 8% of investors considered the current stock market environment a time to decrease their stock holdings in order to protect against further losses.
As for their market outlook for the rest of 2020, 51% of investors were optimistic that the worst has passed; 49% said the worst was yet to come.
"Investors are displaying remarkable resilience at an unprecedented time," Tracie McMillion, head of global asset allocation strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said in a statement.
"Numerous trends in the poll confirm that investors view recent market disruption as episodic and temporary, not as a sign of systemic problems that will harm their investments in the long term or compel them to reallocate their assets."
COVID-19 Repercussions
Many investors said they had been hit by the pandemic's effects on the job market. The survey found that as of the May, 27% of nonretired investors had suffered a loss of income or pay, 15% had been furloughed or temporarily laid off and 1% had been permanently let go.
The coronavirus has also compelled a quarter investors to assume more financial responsibility for family members. Sixteen percent said they were providing greater financial assistance to an adult child, while 7% each said they had assisted a parent or another relative.
