Financial Survey: Is your net worth keeping pace?

Not surprisingly, doctors, like many Americans, are feeling more chipper about their financial outlook than they did in 2000-the last time we took an in-depth looks at physicians' personal finances. That year the market was grim, and only 37 percent of survey respondents said their situation seemed to be improving. In this year's survey, 51 percent think things are looking up. Meanwhile, the proportion of those who think they're losing ground fell from 28 percent in 2000 to 18 percent this year.

Some investors scored big With the S&P 500 up 10.9 percent last year, and almost 29 percent in 2003, many investors have seen their portfolios recover from the battering they took at the beginning of the decade. More than three out of four doctors reported net investment gains in 2004, while fewer than one in 10 suffered losses. Typical gains amounted to $30,000, but nearly a quarter of the winners chalked up at least $100,000.