Wealthy stressed by rocky economy

Confidence among investors with more than $500,000 in investible assets tumbled to an all-time low in January, as investors fretted about a falling stock market and a recession-bound economy. The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index fell 13 points to a reading of -13. The decrease washes out the five point gain recorded in December and leaves the index below its previous record low of -6 recorded in October 2005. The decline is also the largest one-month decline for the index since its inception in February 2004, eclipsing the 10-point drop recorded in March 2007. Meanwhile, the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index fell 14 points in January (InvestmentNews, Jan. 2), matching the largest-ever decline in March 2007, knocking the index down to a record low of -6. The Index's previous all-time low of zero was recorded in October 2005. The January decline also reverses a 5-point gain in December 2007. Affluent and millionaire investors alike cited stock market conditions, the economic environment and retirement issues as their top concerns. The indexes are put out on a monthly basis by The Spectrem Group of Chicago.