CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - January 7, 2009) - Spectrem Group (
www.spectrem.com) announced
today that its Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII)® rose 16 points
in December to -23, its largest advance ever.
This gain, the biggest since the index's inception in February 2004,
follows a record low of
-39 in November 2008 and returns the index to mildly bearish territory.
Prior to this advance, the millionaire index's largest gain was 13 points
in November 2005.
(Note: For more detail on millionaires and the current crisis, see
Spectrem's new report "Attitudes of Affluent Investors on Surviving the
Economic Crisis," released Tuesday.)
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII)®, which measures the
investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable
assets, rose 8 points, also from its all-time low, to
-31 in December. It remained bearish.
"Millionaires and the affluent ended a dismal year on a relatively positive
note, posting solid improvements in their investment outlook from record
lows. Nonetheless, with both groups far more pessimistic than a year ago
and the economy still ranking as their No. 1 concern, the New Year appears
off to a shaky start for the wealthiest Americans," said George H. Walper,
Jr., President of Spectrem Group.
In response to an open-ended question about the most serious threat to
achieving their financial goals, affluent investors in December cited: the
economy: (28%); market conditions (19%); unemployment (15%); the political
climate (8%); health-related issues (3%) and housing and real estate (1%).
Those choosing the economy fell from 38% in September 2008, the last time
this question was asked.
Millionaires expressed more concern about the economy (30%) than the
affluent but less about market conditions (16%).
Historical Performance
July August September October November December
----- ------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Spectrem
Affluent
Investor
Index® -17 -13 -22 -30 -39 -31
----- ------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Spectrem
Millionaire
Investor
Index® -8 -9 -18 -24 -39 -23
----- ------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Methodology
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index® is based on 250 monthly interviews
with the financial decision-makers in households with $500,000 or more in
investable assets. The data have a margin of error of plus or minus 6.2
percentage points. The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index® is based on
a subset of the overall survey group.
Contact Information: Contact:
Sharon Bially
(774) 270-1293
sharon@farrellkramer.com