Youth and Expectations:

Investors in Internet stocks are younger than average--duh!--and hope for more than twice the average expected return, according to a national survey of 1,026 consumers by the Gallup Organization.

Twenty-seven percent of investors under 40 have invested in Internet companies, compared with 15% of all investors, according to the 11th monthly index of investor optimism co-sponsored by Paine Webber. The younger investors say they expect returns of 30.6% in the next 12 months, compared with 14.7% for older shareholders.

“They are essentially the buy-what-you-know audience,” said Frank Drazka, director of technology investment banking at Paine Webber.--Bloomberg News