While more than half of investors - 54% - said they most value the advice of financial experts and investment professionals when making investment decisions, their next top choice is to turn to the opinions of knowledgeable family, friends, and colleagues (35%). Investors are more likely to give significant weight to investment advice from their well-informed peers than to information found on financial news Web sites (32%) and they value the advice of friends and family more than twice as much as information found in financial print media (14%).

Financial information obtained from company announcements was among the least valued by investors - just 11% said they find this information worthwhile in helping them make profitable investment decisions. Company announcements were seen as only slightly more valuable than investment information found in online financial communities (10%) or blogs (3%). The Zogby Interactive survey of 1,077 self-identified investors nationwide who own stock personally or through investment plans or other pension plans, was conducted Feb. 11-13, 2009, and carries a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points.

"These results turn the traditional investor research model on its head. Instead of focusing on company announcements and analysts meetings, investment professionals now need to put as much weight on the demand side -- on the views and opinions of consumers," said Marc Lepere, Chairman and CEO of Vox Pop Investing^TM.

Investors reluctant to strongly recommend any investment advice source 

The survey also showed when it comes to recommending sources of financial advice to people they know seeking help making investment decisions, few sources received strong backing - in fact, not a single source was likely to be recommended by more than 50% of investors. Despite this reluctance to overwhelmingly endorse any source of investment information, 33% said they would be likely to recommend financial experts and investment professionals -- but investors were nearly as likely to say they would suggest the advice of knowledgeable people they know, such as family and friends (29%). Three in four investors (74%) would be unlikely to recommend blogs and more than half of investors said they would steer investors they know away from the advice found in company announcements (58%), and given by financial media pundits (55%), and online investment communities (54%).

About Vox Pop Investing^TM 

Vox Pop Investing^TM  is a proprietary investment research methodology pending a US patent. It is based on the principle that, in many sectors of the economy, the model for success has fundamentally shifted from "manufacturer push" to "consumer pull."

Vox Pop Investing^TM partners with Zogby International to poll expert consumers to predict the popularity and sales momentum of products and services. Used alongside traditional investment research, this consumer data has repeatedly proved its value. Established in 2005, Vox Pop Investing^TM is a privately held company, based in London. www.voxpopinvesting.com.

About Zogby International 

Zogby International is a public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. Founded and led by John Zogby since 1984, Zogby International ranks as one of the industry's leaders thanks to its reputation for superior accuracy and reliability. Zogby specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for political, corporate, non-profit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, New York, with offices in Washington D.C. and Miami. John Zogby is the author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House), now available online and in bookstores.

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