U.S. investor optimism waning, Wells Fargo finds

Wells Fargo's index of investor optimism fell 40 percent between February and May, according to results released Tuesday from the bank's quarterly survey.

The index fell to 24 in May, from 40 in February.

To put that in perspective, the index peaked at 178 in January 2000, the peak of the dot-com boom. It hit bottom during the financial crisis in February 2009 at -64.

A few other results from the survey:

• 1/3 of investors say low interest rates will cause them to delay retirement.
• 80 percent say healthcare is in crisis, but 90 percent say they're pleased with the quality of their healthcare.
• 87 percent say they share major financial decision-making. 48 percent of men but only 21 percent of women say they "take the lead" in financial decision-making.

The polls are conducted in conjunction with Gallup and survey more than 1,000 randomly selected investors.