Investment anxiety has reached a six-year high, with nearly half of Americans saying they’re too nervous to put money in the market right now.
According to Allianz Life’s latest quarterly study, 48% of Americans feel paralyzed by investment fears and 47% say market volatility is giving them anxiety about their nest egg. The results come from an online survey of just over 1,000 American adults.
Market volatility has 73% of survey respondents worried about their long-term financial plans. For those eyeing retirement, 72% say they fear they won’t be able to afford their desired lifestyle if volatility persists.
Tariffs aren’t helping volatility concerns, as 77% of respondents worry that new trade policies will jack up their cost of living.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) believe a major downturn is lurking.
To combat market anxiety, some are going on defense. Over half (55%) have shifted their investments toward more conservative options, up from 49% last quarter. Among those who work with financial advisors, 66% have recently reached out or plan to contact their financial advisor, up from 59%.
Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life, addressed the results in a press release:
“For people who are still many years away from retirement, staying the course is the best option. But recent market volatility highlights the need to incorporate risk management into a retirement strategy since it could result in depleting assets faster than anticipated through a negative sequence of returns.”
This defensive shift matters most during what LaVigne calls “the fragile decade” — the critical years right before and after retirement.
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