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War is consuming the Middle East, oil tankers are tanking, frightening speculation about private credit is flowing, and retirement savers may be so scared that they are making what advisors may see as odd decisions.
Consumer sentiment trackers at organizations like the American Council of Life Insurers, Northwestern Mutual, F&G Annuities & Life and Jackson have gathered data on the new world of fear through recent tracking surveys.
The sponsors of the surveys are organizations that promote sales of life insurance, annuities and others strategies for providing protected retirement income.
The organizations' surveys were conducted before the start of the Iran war, but they show how grim many participants' thoughts were even before the crisis flared.
Here are five major findings from the surveys:
1. Consumers are admitting that their finances are, generally, pretty good.
Northwestern Mutual found that 50% of the 4,375 U.S. adults ages 18 or older that it polled in January felt financially secure. The percentage who said they felt financially secure was higher than in January 2025 for all age groups.
2. The resilience of middle-class consumers is down from recent highs.
The ACLI's financial resilience index hit a two-year low in the third quarter of 2025, but middle-class wage growth and retirement readiness indicators were still above historical averages.
3. More U.S. investors want to reduce exposure to financial risk.
The share increased to 77%, from 73% a year ago, according to F&G. In November 2025, it when it polled 1,601 U.S. financial decisionmakers, ages 30 and older, with at least $10,000 in financial products or investable assets.
4. But many are taking steps that increase their risk exposure.
When Jackson National and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College polled 1,443 investors, ages 45 to 79, with at least $100,000 in financial assets, in July 2025, they found that only 14% of Generation X adults surveyed and 12% of the baby boomers had reduced their level of investments.
About 68% of the Gen X participants and 59% of the boomers had increased exposure to alternative investments, and 62% of the Gen X participants and 49% of the boomers had increased exposure to cryptocurrency.
About 47% of the participants said they had a low level of optimism, and just 32% said they had a high level of optimism.
5. Northwestern Mutual has a section on 'financial nihilism' in its survey results summary.
The company found what it sees as signs of investors responding to bad feelings about the economy by making what traditional advisors might see as highly irrational moves.
About 73% of the participants said they "feel financially behind and believe high-risk/speculative investments will help reach financial goals more effectively than traditional methods."
About 24% of the participants are invested in, or considering investing in, cryptocurrency.
About 17% are "invested in," or considering participating in, sports betting or prediction markets.
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