Despite the five point advance in September, the index has been in neutral territory for the past three months.
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index, which measures the investment confidence of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, fell by two points to -15. This index, in mildly bearish territory, had increased in the previous three months.
“Millionaires and the broader affluent population saw their investment confidence decline slightly in October, ending a run of three consecutive monthly advances that began in July,” said Spectrem President George H. Walper, Jr. “Despite the erosion, confidence levels remain higher than they’ve been through most of the economic downturn. Overall, this suggests the nation’s wealthiest investors are reacting cautiously to the stock market’s October gains and recent signs that the economy may be coming back to life.”
Twenty-seven percent of affluent investors said that stock market conditions were the most important factor affecting their investment decisions, followed by the economy (22%), politics (7%), household income (4%) and household cash flow (4%).
Millionaires expressed more concern about the stock market (29%) but were slightly less concerned about the economy (20%).
