CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - July 28, 2010) - Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) announced today that its Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI℠) fell 4 points in July to a level of -16.
This decline brings the affluent index, which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, to its lowest level since August 2009, when it stood at -18, and keeps it in mildly bearish territory.
Meanwhile, the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI℠) was unchanged in July at -7, a neutral reading.
"The investment outlook of affluent investors fell in July to levels not seen since August 2009, while millionaires' confidence held steady despite a turbulent stock market. Nevertheless, taken together the nation's wealthiest investors are exiting the month of July with an overall feeling of pessimism, as those factors most impacting their investment plans -- the economy and market conditions -- remain outside their control," said George H. Walper, Jr., President of Spectrem Group.
In response to an open-ended question about the one factor most affecting their investment plans, affluent investors in July cited: the economic environment (22%), stock market conditions (21%), the political climate (6%), household cash flow (6%), retirement (5%) and household income (4%). Those choosing the economy increased from 16% in April 2010, the last time this question was asked, and those citing stock market conditions were unchanged.
Millionaires were more focused on both the economic environment (26%) and stock market conditions (27%) than the affluent.
Historical Performance
| February | March | April | May | June | July | |
| Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index℠ | -10 |
-12 |
-9 |
-5 |
-12 |
-16 |
| Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index℠ | -10 |
-6 |
-1 |
-1 |
-7 |
-7 |
Methodology
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI℠) 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 Confidence Index (SMICI℠) is based on a subset of the overall survey group.
Contact Information:
Contact:
George Walper
(312) 454-3320
gwalper@spectrem.com