Sentiment among affluent investors slipped again in July, according to the latest survey from consulting firm Spectrem Group.

The research firm announced that the Spectrem Affluent Investor Index fell a further three points in July (after slipping two points in June), amid growing concern about stock market conditions.

This marks its fifth-straight month in neutral territory, and this is the second time the affluent index has seen back-to-back declines this year.

With the exception of February, when it briefly moved into mildly bullish territory, the index has been neutral since January. Meanwhile, the Spectrem Millionaire Index also slid one point, although it remains in mildly bullish territory.

Both affluent investors and millionaires both cited stock market conditions as their top area of concern when asked about the factors most affecting their investment plans. The stock market far outstripped the second biggest concern, which for affluent investors was the economy and for millionaires was both retirement and low investment and interest returns.

“Uncertainty about the stock market moved front and center for affluent investors and millionaires in July, driving continued weakness in the investment outlook of both these important groups,” said George Walper Jr., president of Spectrem Group. “Affluent investors expressed greater concern about the market than they did in the spring, when we last asked about threats to their portfolios. However, despite the July declines, affluent investors retained the same neutral outlook they have held for most of the year and millionaires remained mildly bullish for the 10th straight month. We can conclude that while these investors have real concerns, they are taking a relatively measured and long-term approach.”

The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index is based on 250, 10-minute telephone interviews each month, giving the data a margin of error of plus or minus 6.2 percentage points. Interviews are conducted with the financial decision-makers in households with US$500,000 or more in investible assets. The Millionaire Index is based on a subset of the overall survey group that can vary each month.