CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - August 25, 2010) - Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) announced today that the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI ℠) fell 11 points in August to -18.
This decline, its biggest since June 2009, brings the index to its lowest level since that date, when it fell a record 18 points to -20. It also returns the index to mildly bearish territory after 12 straight months in neutral.
Meanwhile, the Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI ℠), which measures the investment confidence and outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, fell 4 points in August to a mildly bearish -20, its third-straight monthly decline.
"Millionaires posted their biggest decline in investment confidence in more than a year in August, while affluent investors saw their confidence decline for a third-straight month. The millionaires' decline is particularly troubling since it suggests millionaires, typically more sophisticated than the broader affluent population, are reverting to a bearish frame of mind," said George H. Walper, Jr., President of Spectrem Group.
In response to an open-ended question about the news story most affecting their economic outlook, affluent investors in August cited: the political environment (18%); unemployment (16%); the economy (11%); stock market conditions (8%); health care reform (5%); the oil spill (2%); and European problems (1%). Those citing the political environment rose from 13% in May 2010, the last time this question was asked, and those citing unemployment rose from 6%.
Millionaires were more focused on the political environment (25%) than the affluent, but less focused on unemployment (13%).
Historical Performance
| March | April | May | June | July | August | |
| Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index(SM) | -12 | -9 | -5 | -12 | -16 | -20 |
| Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index(SM) | -6 | -1 | -1 | -7 | -7 | -18 |
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:
Sharon Bially
(508) 655-2676
sharon@farrellkramer.com