CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - April 1, 2009) - Spectrem Group (
www.spectrem.com) announced
today that its Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII)® rose 8 points
in March to -26, returning to a mildly bearish stance.
The rise in the millionaire index follows a 13-point decline in February
2009. It brings the index off a near-record low of -34 and returns it to
mildly bearish territory.
Meanwhile, the Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII)®, which measures
the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable
assets, rose 8 points in March to -30. This mildly bearish reading follows
a 10-point decline the prior month.
"Millionaires and the affluent showed a bit more optimism in March, with
investment outlooks returning to mildly bearish territory from near-record
lows the month before. The stock market's improvement together with low
energy prices and some good news on home construction contributed to the
improvement. However, it's too early to know whether investment optimism
is truly stabilizing for the nation's wealthiest investors," 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 March cited: the
economy (27%); the political climate (18%); market conditions (16%);
unemployment (9%); housing and real estate (2%) and health-related issues
(2%). Those choosing the economy fell from 28% in December 2008, the last
time this question was asked, while those choosing the political climate
rose from 8%.
Millionaires expressed slightly more concern about the economy (28%) than
the affluent but were less worried about market conditions (14%).
Historical Performance
October November December January February March
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Spectrem
Affluent
Investor
Index® -30 -39 -31 -28 -38 -30
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Spectrem
Millionaire
Investor
Index® -24 -39 -23 -21 -34 -26
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
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