CPAs want to know what investors think, and so the Center
for Audit Quality, affiliated with the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants, has been surveying investors
for a few years. The results for 2009 show that those
surveyed with much confidence in the U.S. capital markets
have fallen to 24% in 2009 from 39% in 2007. Clearly, 2008's
downturn had an effect.
Here's a bit of reassuring news for CPAs: Confidence in
public companies' audited financial statements fell just
three percentage points to 70%. Well, I looked a little more
closely at that data table, and that 70% is for those with a
great deal of confidence, quite a bit of confidence, and some
confidence -- combined. If you take out the "some"
respondents, then those with a great deal or quite a bit of
confidence have fallen significantly, from 38% in 2007 to 28%
in 2009. There's not as much trust.
Investing less?
Here's the kicker for me, though: It seems that about
60% of respondents have changed their behavior over the past
six months. And what changes have they made? Well, check them
out:
In contrast, only 5% invested more money.
The stock market (as measured by the S&P 500) is up
about 25% over the past six months, as I write this. Those
folks who invested less money have probably
lost out on considerable gains. If that's you, take heart
-- the table below shows some companies that have appreciated
significantly over the past six months, but are still highly
rated by investors in our
Motley Fool CAPS community, with five out of five
stars:
Company
6-Month Return
Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR)
27%
Flowserve (NYSE: FLS)
64%
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE:
PBR)
34%
Western Union (NYSE: WU)
33%
Philip Morris International (NYSE:
PM) Continued... |