Posted on: Friday, June 13, 2003

Investors still coping with financial pain

By Adam Shell
USA Today

NEW YORK — It's going to take more than a three-month rally to erase the financial and psychological pain suffered after the stock market bubble burst.

Even though stocks are up nearly 25 percent since March 11, not many stockholders are feeling rich. One out of two investors (49 percent) say they feel "poorer" than they did three years ago, a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll found. And they probably are: The Standard & Poor's 500 index is still 35 percent below its March 24, 2000, peak.

Nearly six out of 10 (57 percent) investors polled June 9-10 say it would be a "bad idea" to invest a spare $1,000 in stocks now. While that number fell from 63 percent in early April, it's still among the most pessimistic numbers since 1990. The findings illustrate how difficult it has been for investors who lost money in the bear market to get over the psychological hurdle caused by their financial pain.

Carol Romanowski, 51, of Kenosha, Wis., offers an emotionally charged reason why she won't buy: "Because I have lost over 50 percent of what I invested, and I'm tired of losing money."

Not everyone distrusts the recent rally; 41 percent of investors said now is a "good time" to invest in stocks, the highest level in a year.

Charles Gibbes, 68, a retiree from Raleigh, N.C., says now is a good time to invest because the economy is recovering. "We have hit rock bottom, and I'm betting on a rebound," he said.