Many companies featured on Money advertise with us. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research may determine where and how companies appear. Learn more about how we make money. Although the Federal Reserve says the U.S. is closing in on its ideal rate of inflation and a recession looks increasingly unlikely, everyday Americans are still feeling a squeeze on their finances — and it’s influencing their investing behavior. A new report shows that despite several positive indicators — and no official declaration from the powers that be — many people believe we’re already in a recession. Still, optimism toward the markets continues to grow, leading investors to prioritize growing their holdings and catching up on goals they believe they’re behind on. Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad.Ad What the data says Personal finance company SoFi released a report this week that takes stock of investor behavior and attitudes after the first half of 2023. The company surveyed roughly 3,500 Americans and found that two-thirds of investors think the country is currently in a recession. A majority say they’re lagging in achieving their investing goals. However, despite this arguably bleak situation, three-quarters are bullish on their current market outlook. Here are the top five places investors have put their money in the last year, along with the percentage of SoFi poll respondents who said they’re invested in each category: Stocks (53.7%) Cryptocurrency (44.1%) Mutual funds (38.2%) Bonds (26.6%) Exchange-traded funds (21.1%) Interestingly, crypto and ETFs, while two of the most popular investments, are also the two areas where investors feel they lack the most knowledge. Almost one-third of respondents said that they don’t know enough about crypto nor ETFs to invest in them. Index funds and real estate also fall into this gap, with about one-quarter of respondents saying they don’t know enough to invest in either. Looking forward Overall, 56% of investors said they feel that they haven’t invested enough at this point in their lives. The group most concerned with falling behind is Gen X, or people ages 43 to 58, where over 64% say they haven’t invested enough. Boomers are the only generation that feels more confident than not in how much they’ve invested, with just under 43% of 59- to 77-year-olds concerned that they haven’t done enough. The biggest fears folks have, then, tend to be in the realm of not doing enough, rather than doing too much. About 30% worry about being too conservative and 38% worry about not investing enough, whereas only 14% fret about being too aggressive. Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad.Ad More from Money: You Don’t Need a Credit Card to Have Good Credit Why Americans’ Confidence in a Comfortable Retirement Is Dropping Most Middle-Income Earners Are Missing out on an Easy Way to Boost Their Savings Source link Post Views: 179 Post navigation A beginner’s guide to do’s and don’ts How Resilient Retail Investors Are Adapting to Rate Hikes