Spectrem Group said that investors’ outlook brightened in September, according to its research.

The firm said that its Spectrem Affluent Investor Index advanced in September, as concerns about inflation and oil and gas prices eased. The index, which measures the investment outlook of households with US$500,000 or more in investable assets, had been in a downtrend since its near-term peak in February 2006. In August, the index fell to a level just shy of its all-time low. Despite the record September gain, the index remains in neutral territory.

Affluent investors expressed sharply lower concern about inflation and oil and gas prices in September when asked about the biggest threat to their financial goals, it noted.

At the same time, the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index also advanced, emerging from neutral territory and returning to a mildly bullish position.

“Affluent investors and millionaires became significantly more positive in their investment outlooks in September, reversing direction after a relatively steady, six-month decline that took both indexes to near-record lows,” said George Walper Jr., president of Spectrem Group.

“This is similar to the indexes’ performance in November 2005, when they rose sharply from historic lows the month before. The indexes continued that advance through February. With affluent investors reporting sharply lower concern about inflation and oil and gas prices in September, good news on these fronts going forward could help transform the month’s strength into a sustainable advance,” he added.

In response to an open-ended question about the biggest threat to their financial goals, affluent investors cited: the economy (17%), elections (11%), health issues (8%), unemployment (7%), inflation (6%), and oil and gas prices (2%). Concern about the economy rose from 12% in June 2006, the last time this question was asked. However, worries about inflation, the No. 1 concern in June at 15%, fell significantly, as did concern about oil and gas prices, which stood at 4% in June.

Similar to the affluent, 14% of millionaires cited the economy as the greatest threat to their financial goals. Ranking immediately behind the economy for millionaires were elections (10%) and health issues (10%).

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 investable assets. The Millionaire Investor Index is based on a subset of the overall survey group.