Majority of People Not Confident in Investment Decisions

Fifty-eight percent of people are not confident making an investment decision, slightly improved from 60% last year, affording to the Jackson National Life Insurance Company Investor Education Survey.

That is not likely to improve in the near future, as 30% of people have no interest in financial education, up from 26% last year.

“It is disheartening to think that Americans may slowly be losing interest in improving their financial knowledge, especially when you consider that most people are not feeling very confident about investing,” says Dan Martin, director of digital communications and strategy at Jackson. Conversely, 70% of the respondents to the survey of 2,772 people did express interest in learning more about finance—indicating an opportunity for advisers, Martin says.

Asked what are the most important factors when selecting a financial adviser, 48% said honesty, followed by level of financial and investment knowledge, cited by 26%. Asked what would make the biggest difference in their financial outlook, 28% said working with an adviser who really understands them.

The survey also found that 43% of people want to receive financial education primarily from an adviser, whereas 31% prefer relying on the Web.

Forty-seven percent said having enough money is their top retirement concern, down from 57% in 2016.