ASX dumped

According to Tim Boreham investors are quitting the market in droves

Mr Lechte said: "Most people are getting sick of the volatility, which is causing them sleepless nights. There are definitely people aged 70 to 80 who are seeing a 10 per cent fall and are saying, 'I'm out' (of the sharemarket)."

"We are clearly going through a very turbulent time," said Alex Dunnin, head of research at funds monitoring house Rainmaker. "It seems we are locked into this massive uncertainty and you can see why consumers are scared."

Mr Dunnin said many workers approaching retirement were "gobsmacked" on learning how much of their nest egg was exposed to equities, when they thought they had a balanced portfolio, and wanted to get out of them.

"All of this money is pouring into cash and deposits" and "explained why bank deposits at $1.5 trillion are now bigger than all super at $1.4 trillion".

According to the Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence, 38 per cent of Australians believe that bank deposits are the wisest place for savings, the highest level since the Whitlam-era turmoil of 1975.