Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII) Motionless at 15
The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index stayed steady in July, matching June’s 15 and remaining in the same mildly bullish territory.

Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII) No change, stays at 7
The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index mimicked the Millionaire index in staying level at 7, holding in neutral territory.

Days prior to the global stock plunge which began July 26, 2007, the Spectrem indices had leveled off, as Millionaires and the Affluent continued to place investments on hold, waiting out a volatile stock market, and negative economic reports. A wise choice, as shortly after, Wall Street witnessed one of its worst single day losses of 2007, setting off a global stock plunge that also pulled in Germany, Britain and France, as well as Asia a day later. The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII)TM, which measures the investment outlook of households with $1,000,000 or more in investable assets, held steady at 15, in mildly bullish terrain, while the Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII)TM , which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, remained level at 7 in neutral turf.

Spectrem’s Investment Preferences, which reflects affluent investor intentions in the near term, showed affluent investors pulling even further away from marketplace action than in previous months, with “Not Investing” increasing for Millionaires (+9 points), and all other investment preferences down, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cash and real estate.Perhaps prophetically, when asked what affects their investment plans the most, the affluent expressed high levels of concern with stock market conditions just prior to both major Wall Street plunges in February and July. This is likely because the affluent (and millionaires in particular) tend to be more attentive to market trends and fluctuation.

Worry about troubling housing and real estate trends (such as sub-prime mortgage defaults) continues to nag at investors. Concern about job security has risen since April, 2007, as corporate borrowing faces the potential threat of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, and a weakened stock market affects company profits. Spectrem’s Affluent Household Outlook held fairly steady for the second month with a small drop (-1%), amidst continuing concerns about the economy.

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