Almost every corporate leader I talk with these days tells me the same thing: business is actually better than expected – but things feel really bad. At the same time, individual investors are confused, frustrated and angry about stagnant incomes, low yields and erratic growth. They don’t see how they’ll ever be able to save enough for the future.
As a result, trillions of dollars are sitting on the sidelines. Among non-financial S&P 500 companies, cash represents the highest share of assets since the 1960s. In the US, total bank deposits have been growing rapidly even though most are delivering returns below inflation. That’s one way to ensure savers won’t build the nest egg they need for retirement. Even in China, too much money is in short-term savings.
Despite signs of economic recovery, there is a gnawing sense that things are not right. This crisis of confidence is a result not of passing trends, but of powerful forces that are transforming the global system.