Are you
feeling rich at Dow 14,000?
Unless you're in
the One Percent, the answer is probably no.
While the
surging stock market has boosted 401K plans and pension funds for many
Americans, it's the top one percent who tend to get the biggest lift from
significant stock market rallies.
According to the
Federal Reserve, the wealthiest one percent of Americans own 52 percent of all
directly owned, publicly traded stocks in the United States. The top 5 percent
own 82 percent of directly held stocks.
Yes, stocks have
become more widely held over the past two decades. And roughly half of Americans
own some stocks through mutual funds and pension funds. The higher Dow and the
"wealth effect" will no doubt lead to greater spending in the economy over
time.
But only about a
third of all Americans hold more than $10,000 in stock, according to a report
from the Economic Policy Institute. So while more Americans hold stock, they
don't hold much. Wealth for most families comes from their homes and jobs -
which have not recovered as quickly or as strongly as
stocks.
"Gains from the
recent uptick in the stock market go almost entirely into the hands of the
rich," said Edward Wolff, an economics professor at New York University who
specializes in household wealth.
Adding to the
disparity in stocks are the investing habits of the wealthy and non-wealthy.
While many smaller investors got out of the stock market during the crisis or
withdrew money from funds, the wealthy kept more money in the market - at least
on a dollar basis. As a result, the wealthy had more money in the market as it
surged after 2009.
According to
figures from Cerulli Associates, investors with less than $100,000 in investible
assets on average had $17,975 in the stock market at the end of 2011, down from
$19,732 at the end of 2007. Those with $500,000 to $2 million saw their average
increase by $63,000, to $966,948.
For now, the Dow
14,000 is only highlighting the two-speed recovery - as the stock-dependent
wealthy are back to 2007, and the house-dependent masses are still waiting for
their rebound.
AHT/ARA