Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII)^®  

Millionaires gained much confidence about the economy, pushing the index higher.

 Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII)^®   

Affluent gained confidence in the economy, pushing their index higher, in a move mirroring the Millionaire Investor Index.

© Copyright 2008. Spectrem Group

There’s an old adage in the investment markets, that Thanksgiving belongs to the bears and Christmas to the bulls. It seems that Millionaires and the Affluent feel the same, as their indices rose, buoyed by the spirit of the holidays, for the 4th December in a row.

Millionaire and Affluent respondents expressed their intention to reengage most market vehicles in the near term, giving up  on cash to invest in primarily stock, stock mutual funds and real estate.  Real Estate intentions rose for the first time since May 2007, as the affluent consider buying opportunities exposed by the mortgage market shakeout, and overall real estate downturn. Those choosing to Not Invest leveled off, as the affluent reentered the markets.

Three of the four Affluent Household Outlook determiners rose this month, sending the outlook up for the first time in three months. The one component that fell slightly was Company Health. The Economy component rose from –32.1 to –18.2, but is still low showing the affluent continued, but lessened, concerns.

The political climate, charged with the energy of the upcoming Presidential election, is running second to the economy in terms of factors the affluent perceive as threats to achieving their household financial goals.

The economy is always a concern to the affluent, as it should be. It will be interesting to see, in the near future, how the affluent will react to the upcoming election. This concern is up from 6% to 12% since September of this year. As the political race ramps up, this is bound to rise again.

---