The Spectrem Group’s investor sentiment indexes posted modest gains in February, and both remain in mildly bullish territory.

The Spectrem Millionaire Index gained just one point in February, its fourth-consecutive advance. The index now stands at its highest level since June 2004 and within two points of its all-time high, last achieved in April 2004. After falling to an all-time low of zero in October 2005, the millionaire index has moved consistently higher, returning in November 2005 to mildly bullish territory, where it remains.

Similarly, the Spectrem Affluent Investor Index, which measures the investment outlook of households with USUS$500,000 or more in investable assets, has been rising consistently since October 2005. The affluent index posted its fourth-straight gain in February, also rising just one point, a mildly bullish reading. The affluent index is now at its highest point since December 2004.

“Millionaires and the broader affluent community continue to show growing confidence in the investment environment,” said George Walper Jr., president of Spectrem Group.

“Millionaires posted their fourth-straight month of increased optimism in February, following a five-month decline that dropped them to an all-time low in October 2005. While the February advance is positive directionally, it is worth nothing that the month’s improvement was the smallest since the millionaire index began its rally, suggesting millionaires may be looking for a definitive sign of economic or market strength before moving substantially higher. The broader affluent population demonstrated the same dynamic, with a fourth-straight advance of its own in the second month of 2006.”

In response to an open-ended question about the news event having the greatest impact on their economic outlook, affluent investors cited: oil and gas prices (14%), the Iraq War (11%), Federal Reserve issues (6%), the deficit (5%) and the economy (3%). The percentage choosing oil and gas prices fell slightly from 15% in November 2005, the last time this question was asked.

Millionaires also expressed the greatest concern about oil and gas prices at 15%, followed by the Iraq War (9%), the deficit (6%), Federal Reserve issues (5%) and the economy (3%).

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 USUS$500,000 or more in investable assets. The Spectrem Millionaire Index is based on a subset of the overall survey group that can vary each month. It is typically drawn from more than 100 monthly interviews.