With the stock market finally returning to 2008 levels, we reached out to Boomer consumers recently to get their relative optimism about taking on those riskier investments.
As you might guess, we got a mixed bag of answers when asking the Boomers if they were more optimistic now that the stock market has returned to those lofty numbers from pre-crash 2008. The following are highlights from our conversations:
Not really. I was forced to liquidate quite a bit of my portfolio at or near the bottom to avoid foreclosure on my investment property, so the fact that it's returning now doesn't make me feel much better. I'm glad it's happening, for the sake of the younger generations, but we boomers really got screwed by Wall Street and the politicians. The entire system is rigged, in my opinion.
Ken, 66
Oxnard, Calif.
I don't really follow the stock market too much. I think I'd go crazy if I did. Most of my money is in bonds and the like; I think I only have 5 percent in the stock market. I've always been a very conservative investor. It's the way I was raised. My dad always told me that gambling on the stock market was the fastest route to the poor house. Up's better than down, of course. I hope it means the country's righting itself finally. These are tough times for folks. But it doesn't really affect me.
