Distrust of Casino Banks: Investors Flee the Stock Market

Investors are eschewing stocks for the perceived safety of bonds and other fixed income assets, trading the possibility of high returns for stability. Bond funds took in an unprecedented $376 billion in 2009 and another estimated $216 billion in 2010 as of the end of August.

Although 90% of the stock market is owned by 20% of the top income earners, according to Citigroup, the perception of public capital markets as the place where capitalism became a democracy has been a cornerstone of America's promise. Now, as in the wake of the Great Depression, a generation of investors may have become alienated from the stock market.

What's clear is that whatever love affair many Americans may have had with stocks is over, at least for the moment.

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