Confidence In Stocks, Mutual Funds Halved In Past Year, Decision Analyst Survey Shows; The Middle-aged And Women Most Likely To Offer Downbeat Assessments.

Business Editors

ARLINGTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003

Confidence in the stock market and mutual funds has tumbled by almost half in the past year, according to a nationwide Internet study by Decision Analyst, Inc., a leading international marketing research and marketing consulting firm.

As part of its regular Economic Index survey, conducted monthly among a sampling of several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography, Decision Analyst asks respondents if they expect stocks and mutual funds to increase or decrease in value over the next six months. The February data reveals that just 23.4 percent of respondents expect values to rise, 19.6 percentage points fewer than in February 2002.

Percentage Of Respondents Expecting Stocks And Mutual Funds To
Increase In Value Over Following Six Months

2002          February               43.0 (Percent)
              March                  49.4
              April                  40.9
              May                    38.7
              June                   32.1
              July                   36.0
              August                 36.8
              September              29.3
              October                33.5
              November               33.5
              December               28.2
2003          January                28.2
              February               23.4

A breakdown of the survey findings by participants' gender reveals that such confidence as does exist is mostly to be found in the male population. Almost one-third (32.0 percent) of males expect the value of stocks and mutual funds to increase, more than double the proportion of females (14.9 percent) expressing similar views.

Age factors also impact on confidence, with those in their middle ages (35-44 and 45-54) least likely to have a positive view of future prospects. The number of respondents in the 35-44 age range expecting values to increase (19.6 percent) is more than 10 percentage points fewer than among those approaching or in retirement (28.9 percent of the 55+ respondents).

"This survey's findings demonstrate just how little confidence there is in the economy right now," said Jerry W. Thomas, President and CEO of Decision Analyst. "A lot of those people who invested heavily in the stock market and mutual funds in the 1980s and 1990s are now strongly pessimistic about the future of those investments. That's having a significant impact on their overall confidence, including their spending habits. It reminds us that a depressed stock market can exert a substantial negative force on the overall economic picture."

Methodology: The Decision Analyst Economic Index is based on a monthly Internet survey of several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The survey is conducted during the last 10 days of each month, delivering a snapshot of current U.S. economic activity, as seen through the eyes of representative consumers. The Index has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

About Decision Analyst

Decision Analyst, Inc. is a leading international marketing research and marketing consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization. Decision Analyst also operates American Consumer Opinion Online, one of the world's largest Internet consumer opinion panels, with nearly four million participants (www.acop.com). For more information, visit www.decisionanalyst.com.