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The U.S. may be embroiled wrangles over trade wars and sensationalized coverage of a presidential impeachment trial in the Senate, but according to the American Institute of CPAs and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, financial satisfaction among Americans has soared from record lows to all-time highs over the past 10 years.
The AICPA's Q4 2019 Personal Financial Satisfaction index, says AICPA-CIMA, has reached a new high for the seventh time in the last ten quarters, thanks in large part to the roaring stock market at the end of 2019.
The PFSi, it explains, "is a quarterly economic gauge that measures the personal financial standing of a typical American" and is calculated as the Personal Financial Pleasure Index minus the Personal Financial Pain Index.
The former is based on proprietary and public economic factors measuring the growth of assets and opportunities, while the latter is focused, logically enough, on the erosion of assets and opportunities. And the positives have it, setting new records. The Q4 PFSi is 4.0 percent higher (1.6 point) higher, at 40.2, than the prior record of 38.6, set in Q1 2019. It also reflects a 7.8 percent (2.9 point) increase from the prior quarter.
The PFS 750 Market index is up 10.1 percent (9.1 points) and has also reached an all-time high, and is the largest contributor to the Pleasure Index at 33.1 percent of its total value. And the Pleasure Index itself is up 3.4 percent (2.5 points) from Q3, reaching a new all-time high (74.9) of its own while edging out its previous Q3 2018 record of 74.8.
The Pain Index dropped 1.3 percent (0.5 percent) from Q3, thanks to drops in underemployment and loan delinquencies that outweighed increases in pain from inflation and taxes.
"The stock market's performance over the last decade is a perfect example of why it's important to remain focused on the long-term goals of your financial plan," Dave Stolz, CPA/PFS chair of the American Institute of CPAs' PFS Credential Committee, is quoted saying.
Stolz adds, "If you had gotten out of the market or moved into more conservative assets after the Great Recession, you would have missed out on the decade's big gains. This underscores why it is important to resist temptation to respond when the market fluctuates and instead stay the course with a financial plan that incorporates a risk tolerance you are comfortable with and a time horizon specific to your personal financial goals."
Ten years ago, it was a very different matter, with the PFSi at -29.6 in Q4 2009, when the Great Recession was still weighing heavily on Americans.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
