The richest third of U.S. households account for 89 percent of all equities ownership

The majority of the recovery from the Great Recession has been through equities. So, if you jumped off the equity bandwagon sometime during the Great Recession likely you have not really seen the recovery. The unfortunate thing is that in order to be able to invest nowadays you have to be able to financially live without your investment principal which most people cannot do because the risks are now much higher than before 2007. So, if you are an investor you must study enough how to mitigate or lessen your risks before you invest. Since many people don't want to be bothered with this deep a study they don't benefit from the upward moves of the stock market. But, since it is one of the only ways to increase your wealth these days that is very unfortunate for 2/3 of the population of our country. To understand what equities are better here is a definition from investopedia.com

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Equity

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Filed Under: Balance Sheet, Financial Leverage, Financial Statements, Margin Account, Mortgage, Mutual Funds, Stock Market Terminology, Equity

Definition of 'Equity ' 1. A stock or any other security representing an ownership interest. 2. On a company's balance sheet, the amount of the funds contributed by the owners (the stockholders) plus the retained earnings (or losses). Also referred to as "shareholders' equity". 3. In the context of margin trading, the value of securities in a margin account minus what has been borrowed from the brokerage. 4. In the context of real estate, the difference between the current market value of the property and the amount the owner still owes on the mortgage. It is the amount that the owner would receive after selling a property and paying off the mortgage. 5. In terms of investment strategies, equity (stocks) is one of the principal asset classes. The other two are fixed-income (bonds) and cash/cash-equivalents. These are used in asset allocation planning to structure a desired risk and return profile for an investor's portfolio.

Investopedia explains 'Equity ' The term's meaning depends very much on the context. In finance, in general, you can think of equity as ownership in any asset after all debts associated with that asset are paid off. For example, a car or house with no outstanding debt is considered the owner's equity because he or she can readily sell the item for cash. Stocks are equity because they represent ownership in a company. Read More: Mitigate Your Equity Risk Does Warren Buffett own the same stock as you?                end quote from: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/equity.asp