Americans are still avoiding stock market investments 10 years after the financial crisis wiped out $ billion of assets from US households . Research by Goldman Sachs showed US retail investors have $ 900bn less invested in stocks than in 2007 . Thomas is not alone in his hesitation to make big bets. While investors are holding fewer assets in stocks , the money they do invest is increasingly going into either mutual funds or exchange - traded funds . “ Index investing is more prevalent … because active management did n’t protect you from losses during the crisis and has underperformed over the last 10 years , ” said Matt Hanson , a wealth adviser at Kayne & Company in Los Angeles .
Americans are still avoiding stock market investments 10 years after the financial crisis wiped out $ billion of assets from US households . Research by Goldman Sachs showed US retail investors have $ 900bn less invested in stocks than in 2007 . While investors are holding fewer assets in stocks , the money they do invest is increasingly going into either mutual funds or exchange - traded funds . “ Index investing is more prevalent … because active management did n’t protect you from losses during the crisis and has underperformed over the last 10 years , ” said Matt Hanson , a wealth adviser at Kayne & Company in Los Angeles .