Affluent Household Outlook Remains Down

   The Spectrem Affluent Household Outlook, which is based on investor attitudes regarding issues that impact their daily lives, rose slightly from -18.76 to -13.51.

   Overall, there were gains in three of the four components. Household Income gained 9.26 points to 3.15. The next largest increase was in Household Assets, which gained 8.92 points to -12.01. Confidence in the Economy, while still negative, also saw a small uptick of 4.09 points to -40.65. Company Health, though dipped slightly from -3.28 to -4.55. This is the fourth straight month that this component declined.

   The upturn in the Outlook was driven by Non-Millionaire households. While there were negative readings for most of the components, each posted gains over last month. The overall Outlook jumped 8.89 points to -13.60, while confidence in the Economy rebounded from its lowest level in more than three years, increasing 15.3 points to -35.22. Household Income gained 9.21 points to 0.68 while Household Assets rose 5.84 points to -18.63. Non-Millionaires were more optimistic about Company Health than Millionaires. This component rose 5.29 points to -1.22 compared to a 7.91 drop in Millionaire households to -8.05.

   Millionaires were also more negative about the Economy. This component fell 7.4 points to -46.34. Readings were up, though, in all other categories. The overall Millionaire Outlook inched upward 1.72 points to -13.43. Household Income gained 9.50 points to 5.74, and Household Assets increased 2.43 points to -5.07.