Confidence among millionaires and affluent individuals declined last month ase a result of recession fears, according to Spectrem Group.
The Chicago research firm said Wednesday that its millionaire investor index fell 8 points from February, to a record minus-13, landing in mildly bearish territory for the first time since its inception. The previous record low of minus-6 was reached in January.
The index has declined 33 points since June.
The Spectrem affluent investor index, which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more of investable assets, fell 10 points in March, to a record minus-20. The index now stands in mildly bearish territory for only the second time since its inception in February 2004. Its first mildly bearish reading was recorded in January.
George H. Walper Jr., Spectrem's president, said that the results are concerning, since millionaires are usually more upbeat than the broader population of affluent investors. "This has created an unprecedented situation where both millionaires and the affluent are mildly bearish at the same time."
In response to an open-ended question last month about the most serious threat to achieving their household financial goals, affluent investors cited the economy (20%), the political climate (14%), market conditions (11%), housing and real estate (7%), unemployment (6%), and health-related issues (6%). The last time this question was asked in December, 19% of respondents cited the economy, and 12% cited the political climate.
Millionaires expressed slightly more concern about the economy (22%) and the political climate (16%) than the affluent last month.
