Spectrem millionaires inch toward optimism

The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index rose eight points in March to -26, returning to a “mildly bearish stance.” This rise comes after a 13-point decline that hit a near-record low of -34 in February. The index is a subset of Spectrem Affluent Investor Index, which is based on a monthly survey of 250 financial decision-makers in households with $500,000 or more in investible assets. The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index also rose eight points in March to a figure of -30. Although the figures in March do mark improvement in investment optimism among the affluent, an open-ended question investigating threats to financial goals revealed underlying investor concerns. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said the economy was the most serious threat to their financial goals, 18% said the political climate, 16% cited market conditions as a concern and 9% said unemployment. “The stock market’s improvement, together with low energy prices and some good news on home construction, contributed to the improvement,” George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group of Chicago, said in a statement. “However, it’s too early to know whether investment optimism is truly stabilizing for the nation’s wealthiest investors.”