Have We Turned the Confidence Corner? Millionaires Think So

A number of recent reports seem to suggest that various segments of the corporate and consumer markets—perhaps even Ben Bernanke—are feeling more confident about the direction of the economy, a suggestion punctuated Wednesday by the release of Spectrem Group’s Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI), which rose to its highest level in nine months.

The SMICI, which measures monthly the confidence level of financial decision-makers in households that have $500,000 or more in investable assets, rose 6 points in February to a positive 4, which Spectrem said was its highest level since May 2011. Spectrem has been conducting research on attitudes and trends among the high-net-worth consumer for 20 years; it began publishing its Millionaire Investor Confidence Index in 2004.