March 30, 2010, Press Release
SPECTREM MILLIONAIRE INVESTOR CONFIDENCE INDEX (SMICI SM) RISES 4 POINTS IN MARCH TO –6
Remains Neutral for Eighth Consecutive Month
Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI SM ) Falls 2 Points to –12
CHICAGO, March 31, 2010 – Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) announced today that its Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI SM ) advanced 4 points in March to –6.
This represents the millionaire index’s eighth-straight neutral reading and follows a 1-point decline in February.
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 2 points in March to –12. The index now stands in mildly bearish territory, down from neutral in February.
“The nation’s wealthiest investors expressed mixed opinions on the investing environment in March with millionaires growing slightly more confident, although at a neutral level for the eighth-straight month, while the broader affluent population saw a small decline in its investment confidence. With the economy and political climate remaining paramount concerns, there is little to suggest that either millionaires or the affluent will grow terribly excited about investing anytime soon,” 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 (26%); the political climate (25%); unemployment (12%); health-related issues (6%); market conditions (4%) and inflation (2%). Those choosing the economy rose from 18% in December 2009, the last time this question was asked, and those citing the political climate rose from 22%.
Millionaires expressed slightly more concern than the affluent about both the economy (28%) and the political climate (27%).
Historical Performance
| October | November | December | January | February | March |
Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index SM | –15 | –10 | –15 | –13 | –10 | –12 |
Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence IndexSM | –7 | –4 | –10 | –9 | –10 | –6 |
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.
