CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 03/28/12 -- Spectrem Group announced today that its Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI(SM)) jumped 10 points in March to 5, the highest level in nearly five years. The Index measures the investment confidence and outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets. This is the seventh consecutive month that the Index has posted a gain.

The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI(SM)) gained six points to 10, the highest reading in just over a year.

In both Millionaire and Non-Millionaire households, there was a shift toward investing in equities, signaling stronger engagement in the market. "Non-Millionaires were particularly active investors in March," observed George H. Walper, Jr., President of Spectrem Group. "There was a dramatic increase this month in the number of those who chose to invest. Millionaires, however, expressed more caution, with a rise in the number of those who chose to remain on the sidelines."

Additional insights from the indexes are available on Spectrem's Millionaire Corner website (www.millionairecorner.com). These include:

• Affluent Investor Confidence Reaches Nearly Five-Year High
  
  
• More Non-Millionaires Choose to Invest
  
  

Affluent investors cited the partisan political climate as the most serious threat to achieving their financial goals at this time. A near similar percentage said that the economy itself was the biggest obstacle.

Index Historical Performance

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                         November   December   January    February   March
                           2011       2011       2012       2012      2012
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Spectrem Affluent
 Investor Confidence
 Index(SM)                 -13         -9         -8         -5        5
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Spectrem Millionaire
 Investor Confidence
 Index(SM)                  -6         -3         -2         4         10
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Methodology

The Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI (SM)) is based on 250 monthly online interviews with the financial decision-makers in households with $500,000 or more in investable assets. The Index has a margin of error of plus or minus 6.2 percentage points. The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI (SM)) is based on a subset of the overall survey group.

About Spectrem Group
Spectrem Group is a strategic consulting firm specializing in the affluent and retirement markets, integrating proprietary research with expertise in building business, marketing and M&A strategies.

About Spectrem's Millionaire Corner
Spectrem's Millionaire Corner website (www.millionairecorner.com) is a powerful source for up-to-the-minute news and information for investors and offers investors the ability to search for a financial advisor.