Savvy Investors Don't Want Uncle Sam To Play the Market, Quick & Reilly

Most sophisticated investors are unenthusiastic about President Clinton's proposal to use the stock market to shore up Social Security, a survey suggests.

Only 8% of the Quick & Reilly customers polled in the discount broker's quarterly survey said they think the government should invest $700 billion of the projected $4.4 trillion federal budget surplus in equities over the next 15 years.

Fifty-seven percent said they favor using the funds for tax cuts and a reduction of the national debt. One-third said all the proposals deserve further examination.

The stock investment proposal was part of President Clinton's State of the Union Address. Thomas C. Quick, president and chief operating officer of Quick & Reilly/Fleet Securities, said he was surprised at how little support it got from his customers, since most of those polled are equity investors.

"When you look at where these individuals have their money invested, it's in the market," Mr. Quick said.

A company spokesman noted that past surveys have shown Social Security to be a matter of concern for Quick & Reilly customers.

Five hundred customers are questioned in the quarterly survey. The median age is 53, the spokesman said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has also criticized the President's proposal, saying politics could influence the investment decisions.

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