(wire)
Affluent Investor Confidence Index climbs
Spectrem Group's Affluent Investor Confidence Index rose three points to negative-10 in February, returning to neutral territory for the first time since November.
The index, which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, increase follows a two-point advance in January and brings the index to neutral from mildly bearish for only the second time since February 2008.
The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index fell one point in February to negative-10 to record its seventh consecutive neutral reading.
In response to an open-ended question about the issue most affecting their economic outlook, affluent investors in February cited: the political environment (26 percent); unemployment (14 percent); health care reform (12 percent); the economy (10 percent); stock market conditions (4 percent); and housing and real estate (2 percent). Those choosing the political environment rose from 7 percent in November, the last time this question was asked, and those choosing unemployment rose from 11 percent.
Millionaires expressed slightly less concern than the affluent about both the political environment (25 percent) and unemployment (13 percent). The affluent index is based on 250 monthly interviews conducted by Chicago-based Spectrem.
The index, which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, increase follows a two-point advance in January and brings the index to neutral from mildly bearish for only the second time since February 2008.
The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index fell one point in February to negative-10 to record its seventh consecutive neutral reading.
In response to an open-ended question about the issue most affecting their economic outlook, affluent investors in February cited: the political environment (26 percent); unemployment (14 percent); health care reform (12 percent); the economy (10 percent); stock market conditions (4 percent); and housing and real estate (2 percent). Those choosing the political environment rose from 7 percent in November, the last time this question was asked, and those choosing unemployment rose from 11 percent.
Millionaires expressed slightly less concern than the affluent about both the political environment (25 percent) and unemployment (13 percent). The affluent index is based on 250 monthly interviews conducted by Chicago-based Spectrem.
