Spectrem Group, a consulting firm specializing in the affluent and retirement markets, said its Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index dropped 4 points in September and has lost 17 points since May.
The index currently stands at 3. That is its third-lowest level ever, slightly above its all-time low of zero in October 2005. It second-lowest level, 1, was in August 2006.
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index, which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more of investable assets, was flat in September at minus-1, below zero for the second month in a row and remaining in neutral terrain. Like the millionaire index, the affluent index has been in a general decline since May.
George H. Walper Jr., Spectrem's president, said in a press release Wednesday, "Amid growing speculation that a recession is on the way ? it appears that both the affluent and millionaires have adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward investing."
