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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2001--A new Ariel MutualFunds and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. survey shows that anxiety aboutmarket volatility is higher among African American investors thanWhite investors of similar incomes.
According to the soon-to-be-released national survey of 500African Americans and 500 Whites earning over $50,000 annually, 32% ofBlack investors say their "confidence in the stock market has beenshaken by recent volatility," compared to just 15% of White investors.The poll was conducted by Neuwirth Research in late January and earlyFebruary.
The differences are especially acute among investors over 50 yearsof age, where 38% of African-Americans versus 17% of Whites in thesame category say their "confidence ... has been shaken." Moreover,just 67% of Black investors versus 82% of White investors agree, "thestock market continues to be the best place for long-term investing." Michael DeFlorimonte, Schwab's Vice-President of African AmericanInvestor Services, said many investors are seeking ways to betternavigate today's volatile markets, and can gain more confidence intheir investment decisions by following some basic steps. "Now is a good time to think ahead and refocus on long-termgoals," said DeFlorimonte. "By reassessing their financial plan, andanalyzing current holdings to see if that plan is working or not,investors have the opportunity to rebalance their portfolios to helpweather the market's ups and downs."
Now in its fifth year, the annual survey shows that the percentageof Blacks who own stocks or stock mutual funds climbed from 57% in1998 to 64% last year, while White stock ownership remained flat atabout 81%.
Ariel President Mellody Hobson pointed out that many of America'scurrent investors did not own any stocks or stock funds prior to the1987 crash. She added that the 1999 survey found that 24% of Blackssaid they would pull out of the market in a "major downturn," versusjust 10% of Whites.
Emphasizing that her company always stresses investing for thelong term, Ms. Hobson said, "For a variety of reasons which we haveprobed over the years, African-Americans have historically resistedstock investing, but our yearly surveys show we're steadily embracingthe stock market. We don't want this volatility to stall ourcommunity's progress as we seek to build wealth," Hobson said. Complete results of the 2001 survey will be released later in theSpring.
Ariel Capital Management Inc. is a Chicago-based investment firmmanaging over $5 billion in assets for institutions as well asindividuals through the Ariel Mutual Funds. Ariel and Schwab areseparate entities, but co-sponsor the "Black Investor Survey." Ariel'sweb site is www.arielmutualfunds.com. The Charles Schwab Corporation(NYSE:SCH), through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC/NYSE),U.S. Trust Corporation, CyBerCorp Holdings, Inc. and its otheroperating subsidiaries, is one of the nation's largest financialservices firms serving 7.6 million active accounts with $844.8 billionin customer assets through offices, regional client telephone service
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