We All Have a Stake in the Stock Market, Right? Guess Again

We All Have a Stake in the Stock Market, Right? Guess Again
For 9 out of 10 households, even a shift in value of 10 percent — enough to qualify as a “market correction”
— would “at most, have a 1 or 2 percent impact on their wealth holdings,” Mr. Wolff said.
That leaves half the population with some exposure to financial market whims, but as Mr. Boshara said, “some exposure can be 100 bucks.”
type of stock investment
investment, by value
Households with each type
households’ total assets
“If you look at where the money is really held, it’s among the top 10 percent,” he said.
A whopping 84 percent of all stocks owned by Americans belong to the wealthiest 10 percent of households.
The riotous market swings that have whipped up frothy peaks of anxiety over the last week — bringing the major indexes
down more than 10 percent from their peak — have virtually no impact on the income or wealth of most families.
“It’s too bad such a small percentage of the population has any real or meaningful ownership
stake in equities, given their historic and current growth,” Mr. Boshara said.