Stocks
What Crash? Number of Middle-Income Earners in Stocks Drops by 16% [Chart]
![What Crash? Number of Middle-Income Earners in Stocks Drops by 16% [Chart]](https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/what-stock-crash-chart.jpg)
What Crash? [Chart]
Number of Middle-Income Earners Invested in Stock Market Drops by 16% Since 2007
The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.
Over the last six years, with some help of the loosest monetary policy in history, the S&P 500 tripled in value from its lows during the Financial Crisis. Then in the last week, U.S. markets have been up and down like a roller coaster with surprising daily movements of historical proportions in both directions. Currently, at our time of publication, the DJIA is down -7% year-to-date.
While the majority of investors are familiar with the above story, this time there are millions of fewer people along for the ride. And most of those that sat this one out are middle or lower income earners.
Several polls tell the same story, which is that the number of Americans invested in the stock market has decreased significantly since 2007, the year before the Financial Crisis. In a series of Gallup polls, which are what we use for today’s chart, respondents were asked the following question: “Do you, personally, or jointly with a spouse, have any money invested in the stock market right now — either in an individual stock, a stock mutual fund, or in a self-directed 401(k) or IRA?”
The total number of adults invested in the market has decreased from 65% (2007) to 55% (today). More alarmingly, it is people in the lower and middle income classes that make up the vast majority of this drop. For people making between $30k and $75k per year, the percentage of those invested has decreased from 72% to 56%. For those making less than $30k, it decreased from 28% to 21%.
The folks that make over $75k per year? The percentage is close to the same, going from 90% to 88% – likely the result of some baby boomers retiring or focusing on fixed income securities in their later years.
Going back further in the data, it actually turns out that the total amount of people invested in the markets is lower than virtually any time in the last two decades. Part of this is because of recent stagnation in wages, and another part is related to the rising distrust in the financial system itself.
In our view, part of the problem is also that policies such as quantitative easing, zero interest-rates, and bank bailouts tend to help those out that are closer to the top of the food chain. Inflating asset bubbles help the people that own such assets, and low rates give well-off people access to even more capital to invest with. However, for the middle and lower income earners that rely on regular paychecks to accumulate capital, these same policies encourage consumption and indebtedness. Lower earners do not get to see their house or stock portfolio sail in growth because they do not own them. They also rely more on credit cards, which have only dropped from 14.5% to 13% in average rates.
So don’t be surprised this weekend when your neighbor is unaware of the stock market mayhem over the last week. The majority of people in middle and lower income classes didn’t experience it.
Markets
Animated Chart: The S&P 500 in 2023 So Far
Track the S&P 500’s performance in 2023, including all 500 companies, and the sectors they belong to, in this animated video.
Creator Program
The S&P 500’s Performance in 2023 Q1
With one quarter of 2023 in the books, how has the S&P 500 performed so far?
The index had a tumultuous 2022, ending the year down 18%, its worst performance since 2008. But so far, despite dealing with tight monetary conditions and an unexpected banking crisis, the S&P 500 has promptly started to rebound.
The above animation from Jan Varsava shows the stock performance of each company on the S&P 500, categorized by sector.
Biggest Gainers on the S&P 500
The S&P 500 increased 7.5% during the first quarter of 2023. Though it was led by a few big outperformers, more than half of the stocks on the index closed above their end-of-December prices.
Here are the top 30 biggest gainers on the index from January 1 to March 31, 2023.
| Rank | Company | 3-Month Return |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nvidia | 90.1% |
| 2 | Meta (Facebook) | 76.1% |
| 3 | Tesla | 68.4% |
| 4 | Warner Bros. Discovery | 59.3% |
| 5 | Align Technology | 58.4% |
| 6 | AMD | 51.3% |
| 7 | Salesforce | 50.7% |
| 8 | West Pharmaceuticals | 47.3% |
| 9 | General Electric | 46.3% |
| 10 | Catalent | 46.0% |
| 11 | First Solar | 45.2% |
| 12 | Monolithic Power Systems | 41.8% |
| 13 | MarketAxess Holdings | 40.6% |
| 14 | GE Healthcare Tech | 40.5% |
| 15 | Arista Networks | 38.3% |
| 16 | ANSYS Inc. | 37.8% |
| 17 | Fortinet Inc. | 35.9% |
| 18 | Wynn Resorts | 35.7% |
| 19 | Paramount Global | 33.8% |
| 20 | FedEx Corp | 32.7% |
| 21 | MGM Resorts | 32.5% |
| 22 | Royal Caribbean Group | 32.1% |
| 23 | ON Semiconductor Corp | 32.0% |
| 24 | Booking Holdings | 31.6% |
| 25 | Cadence Design Systems | 30.8% |
| 26 | Skyworks Solutions | 30.2% |
| 27 | Pulte Group | 28.4% |
| 28 | Seagate Technology | 27.1% |
| 29 | Apple | 27.1% |
| 30 | Lam Research | 26.6% |
Nvidia shares gained the most of all the companies on the S&P 500 in Q1 2023, posting a staggering 90% return over three months.
As the world’s largest chipmaker by market cap, Nvidia gained from both strong earnings and semiconductor industry performance. It also benefited from the rising prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) through software like ChatGPT.
Meanwhile, other tech giants Apple and Microsoft gained 27% and 21% respectively over the same time period.
Tech Leads Returns by Sector
The technology sector as a whole was the best performing sectoral index thanks to these big moves, up 21.7% at the end of March.
| Sector | 3-Month Return |
|---|---|
| Technology | 21.65% |
| Consumer Services | 21.27% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 16.60% |
| Materials | 4.29% |
| Industrials | 3.47% |
| Real Estate | 1.95% |
| Consumer Staples | 0.72% |
| Utilities | -3.24% |
| Health Care | -4.31% |
| Energy | -4.37% |
| Financials | -5.56% |
| S&P 500 | 7.5% |
Shares of other tech-adjacent companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Tesla—listed on the S&P 500 under the categories of communication services and consumer discretionary—also had a strong start to the year and lifted their respective sectors.
Meta in particular is up 76% in Q1 2023, continuing its rebound after falling to an eight-year low in November 2022 on the back of better-than-expected fourth quarter results and share buybacks.
Biggest Losers on the S&P 500
On the other side of the S&P 500, the financial sector was rocked by sudden collapses.
Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Financial Group shares lost the most ground in the first quarter, after both banks collapsed, shedding nearly all of their value in a matter of 30 days.
In fact, seven of the 10 worst performers on the index to start 2023 are banks or financial companies. The visualization shows the ripple effect on the market after the collapse of regional banks in March, and the ensuing rout driving the entire sector down 5.6% year-to-date.
Here are the top 30 biggest losers on the index from January 1 to March 31, 2023.
| Rank | Company | 3-Month Return |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signature Bank | -99.8% |
| 2 | Silicon Valley Financial Group | -99.6% |
| 3 | First Republic Bank | -88.5% |
| 4 | Lumen Technologies | -49.2% |
| 5 | Zions Bancorporation | -38.6% |
| 6 | Charles Schwab Corp | -36.9% |
| 7 | Comerica Incorporated | -33.9% |
| 8 | DISH Network | -33.5% |
| 9 | KeyCorp | -27.3% |
| 10 | Lincoln National Corp | -25.8% |
| 11 | Centene Corporation | -22.9% |
| 12 | Cigna Group | -22.5% |
| 13 | APA Corporation | -22.3% |
| 14 | Citizens Financial Group | -22.1% |
| 15 | Enphase Energy Inc. | -20.6% |
| 16 | Baxter International Inc. | -19.9% |
| 17 | Truist Financial Corporation | -19.9% |
| 18 | American International Group | -19.8% |
| 19 | CVS Health Corporation | -19.7% |
| 20 | Pfizer | -19.6% |
| 21 | Gen Digital | -19.5% |
| 22 | MetLife | -19.4% |
| 23 | Huntington Bancshares | -19.4% |
| 24 | Fidelity National | -19.3% |
| 25 | Halliburton Company | -19.2% |
| 26 | Molina Healthcare | -19.0% |
| 27 | PNC Financial Services | -18.8% |
| 28 | Boston Properties | -18.4% |
| 29 | Fifth Third Bancorp | -17.8% |
| 30 | Allstate Corporation | -17.7% |
Despite the tight monetary landscape, traditionally defensive sectors like energy, consumer staples, and healthcare also underperformed the broader index. This is a reversal from market trends seen in 2022.
Investment Trends to Watch for in 2023
Experts predict a pause in U.S. interest rate hikes “sometime in 2023” but it’s unclear when (or at what level) the pause will take place given persistent inflation in the economy.
However, if interest rates level off in 2023, it could be a key momentum maker for the S&P 500. As Barron’s points out, the index tends to rise after hikes are paused.
Meanwhile, the current tumult in the financial sector is fanning the flames of recessionary fears. How effectively regulators manage the crisis might be the story of the year.
Finally, as we have seen in 2023 so far, investor interest in AI has sent tech stocks soaring. Is this a quick fad, or an overarching trend for the year?
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