February 24, 2010 Press Release
SPECTREM AFFLUENT INVESTOR CONFIDENCE INDEX (SAICI SM ) RISES 3 POINTS IN FEBRUARY TO –10
Returns to Neutral Territory for Only Second Time Since Early 2008
Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI SM ) Down 1 Point to –10
CHICAGO, February 24, 2010 – Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) announced today that its Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI SM ) rose 3 points in February to –10, returning to neutral territory.
The increase in the affluent index, which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, follows a 2-point advance in January 2010. It brings the index to neutral from mildly bearish for only the second time since February 2008. The index was last neutral in November 2009.
Meanwhile, the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI SM ) fell 1 point in February to –10, its seventh-straight neutral reading.
“Affluent Americans became slightly more confident about investing in February as millionaires saw their confidence slip. This left both groups with identical confidence readings – an unusual situation since millionaires have historically been more optimistic than the affluent – suggesting deep-seated unease among millionaires about both the economy and issues surrounding it,” 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 February cited: the political environment (26%); unemployment (14%); health care reform (12%); the economy (10%); stock market conditions (4%); and housing and real estate (2%). Those choosing the political environment rose from 7% in November 2009, the last time this question was asked, and those choosing unemployment rose from 11%.
Millionaires expressed slightly less concern than the affluent about both the political environment (25%) and unemployment (13%).
Historical Performance
| September | October | November | December | January | February |
Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index SM | –13 | –15 | –10 | –15 | –13 | –10 |
Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index SM | –5 | –7 | –4
| –10 | –9 | –10 |
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.
