August 25, 2010, Press Release
SPECTREM MILLIONAIRE INVESTOR CONFIDENCE INDEX (SMICI SM) POSTS LARGEST DECLINE IN OVER A YEAR
Falls 11 Points in August to –18
Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI SM) Down 4 Points to –20
CHICAGO, August 25, 2010 – Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) announced today that the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI SM) 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 SM), 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 IndexSM | –12 | –9 | –5 | –12 | –16 | –20 |
Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence IndexSM | –6 | –1 | –1 | –7 | –7 | –18 |
Methodology
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI SM) 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 SM) is based on a subset of the overall survey group.
