Perhaps it's seasonal, but consumers are apparently feeling better about the economy than they have in years, and they are more confident about the financial services sector, too.
That's according to a study of 1,000 adults – conducted online by LIMRA between Jan. 16 and Feb. 20 – which found that more than a third of those polled held a favorable view of the economy.
The timing of the study as well as current trends in the economy may both be significant to the findings, according to Jennifer Douglas, associate research director of LIMRA Developmental and Strategic Research.
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"Consumer sentiment on the economy tends to be seasonal – it's not uncommon for us to see a boost at the start of each new year," said Douglas. "To a greater extent, the strong equity markets, labor market and low gas prices are likely to have prompted a sense of personal financial well-being, influencing their opinion of the broad economy."
The survey also revealed that segments of the financial services industry which lost popularity in the wake of the financial crisis were shown to have gained consumer confidence across the board, though the confidence level has not hit pre-Great Recession numbers.
Those polled were most confident in community banks and credit unions, with 47 percent saying that they had either an "extreme" amount or "quite a bit" of confidence in those institutions. This was up from 38 percent in January 2014 and 30 percent in October 2008.
In other findings:
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Twenty-nine percent of those polled said they had confidence in national and regional banks, up from 19 percent in January 2014 and 12 percent in 2008.
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Twenty-four percent had confidence in mutual fund companies, up from 16 in January 2014 and 9 percent in October 2008.
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Twenty-three percent were confident in insurance companies, up from 16 percent in January 2014 and 12 percent in October 2008.
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Twenty-three percent were confident in financial advisors, up from 17 percent in January 2014 and 11 percent in October 2008.
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Twenty-one percent were confident in insurance agents and brokers, up from 14 percent in January 2014 and nine percent in October 2008.
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Twenty percent were confident in stock brokerage and investment firms, up from 14 percent in January 2014 and a mere 4 percent in October 2008.
While brokerage and investment firms had the lowest percentage of consumers expressing high levels of confidence, that segment saw one of the largest leaps in confidence since 2008, a 16 percent gain, second only to the community bank and credit union segment and the national and regional bank segment, which both saw 17 percent gains in confidence since 2008.
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