Investor Protection: A Survey of AARP Wyoming Members

Despite their many fears of investing in the stock market and their admitted lack of investment knowledge, this AARP survey finds that Wyoming AARP members are active securities investors. The survey was conducted to learn more about member experiences, perceptions and knowledge of financial investments to enable AARP Wyoming and its partners to better reach out and provide information about financial fraud to age 50+ Wyoming residents.

Other survey findings include:

• Two-thirds (65%) of all Wyoming members invest in securities, and slightly more than six in ten (62%) invest through their employers by having contributions deducted from their paychecks.
  
• The top reason for investing cited by most (89%) of members who invest is for retirement. However, three in ten indicate that providing an inheritance (29%) is also a reason they invest in securities, and at least another quarter (25%) say they invest to help pay for long-term care and health care.
  
• At least half of all members, when asked about investing in the stock market today, cite as their top concerns, a fear of losing money and the state of the economy (64% and 47% respectively), and over a third cite a lack of ethics in the marketplace (37%).

Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 2,000 AARP members in Wyoming and 919 surveys were completed, yielding a response rate of 46 percent and a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percent. For more information, contact Jennifer H. Sauer at 202-434-6207. (25 pages)