1 in 4 Investopedia Readers Say They Now Own Crypto—See What Else They’re Buying

A swift resolution to the elections and the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut may have powered stocks to new highs, but individual investors are waking up to a new set of concerns, and it’s subduing their expectations for super-charged market returns in the near and short term, according to Investopedia’s most recent survey of its readers. 

While more than two thirds of respondents describe their mood as either cautiously optimistic or optimistic, nearly forty percent say they are at least somewhat worried about recent market events, an eight percentage point increase from early October.

More than half (55%) think the stock market is overvalued, though most respondents (64%), say they are not changing the amount of money they are investing on a regular basis. A small percentage of respondents indicate they are investing more and making riskier investments, due to the election results and latest rate cut. Fifteen percent say they are investing less now because of concerns about a potential recession and elevated valuations across the stock market.

Crypto Enthusiasm Returns

President-elect Trump campaigned heavily to the pro-crypto crowd, speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee in July. Among the promises he made was to make the U.S. the crypto currency capital of the world, to never sell the Treasury’s Bitcoin reserve, which today totals 297,000 Bitcoin, and have the Treasury mine its own Bitcoin. While many of those promises may never be kept, the enthusiasm for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has soared—along with the prices—since the election results became clear. It should come as no surprise that the number of respondents (25% percent) who indicated that they now own Bitcoin and other tokens is as high as it’s ever been.

What Investors Are Buying Now

For the past several months, respondents have consistently chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) as the investing product they continue to purchase more of, followed by stocks and index funds. But the crypto bug can be contagious, and twelve percent of respondents indicated they are buying more of it as prices rise, putting it just below CDs.

What Would You Do With an Extra $10,000?

For most of 2024, survey respondents selected individual stocks or ETFs as their top choice of where to allocate an extra $10,000 if they had it. Individual stocks now top the list, according to Investopedia’s most recent survey, slightly edging out ETFs, which was their top choice in early October. Cryptocurrency cracked the top 10 on the list for the first time ever, with 12% of respondents selecting it as their top choice for where to put an extra $10,000. What’s notable is that many of the respondents say asset classes, including cryptocurrency and individual stocks, are overvalued at the moment.

Higher Tariffs Worrying Investors

With the reelection of President Trump and a Republican sweep of Congress, investors’ concerns have shifted towards the potential impact of new economic policies on their portfolios. More than half of respondents chose the prospect of higher tariffs as their number one concern, followed closely by U.S. relations with China. While inflation and the election itself dominated readers’ list of concerns all year, they are now facing the potential impact Trump’s campaign promises of higher tariffs, lower taxes, and more government spending might have on their future returns.

Trump 2.0 and Investors’ Portfolios

Survey respondents had mixed feelings as to which of the president-elect’s policies might have the biggest impact on their portfolios. While nearly 65% of respondents indicated that higher tariffs will negatively impact their returns, nearly 70% think lower corporate tax rates and more individual tax breaks will be beneficial to their investments. Just over half of respondents think deregulation in the financial and energy markets will positively impact their portfolios.

Readers Seem Uncertain About Future Stock Market Returns

While Investopedia’s readers generally feel confident about their portfolios today, the future looks a little cloudier. Optimism is climbing about near-term returns the next six months, however, optimism about returns over the next ten years dipped. About 41% of respondents believe returns will be at least 5% over the next 6 months—an 8 percentage point increase from early October, and the highest it’s been all year. Nearly two-thirds, or 67%, believe 10-year returns will be at least 5%, slightly lower than early October.