Millionaires' Net Worth Down 30% in Current Financial Crisis

Millionaires' Net Worth Down 30% in Current Financial Crisis
Most Fear Long Downturn, Insufficient Assets for Present Lifestyle; Many Unhappy With Advisors' Performance

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - January 6, 2009) - America's millionaires are feeling significant pain.
U.S. households worth $1 million or more have seen their assets decline 30% during the current financial crisis, according to a new report released today by Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com). Nearly one-fifth (17%) of millionaires have absorbed declines greater than 40%, according to the report, titled "Attitudes of Affluent Investors on Surviving the Economic Crisis."
Nearly all the millionaires surveyed (90%) fear a prolonged economic downturn. Altogether, they believe it will last for another 22 months, and more than half (55%) are concerned they will not have sufficient assets to maintain their present lifestyles.
"The current financial crisis has had a dramatic impact on America's millionaires, reducing their net worth substantially and threatening their ability to maintain both lifestyles and retirement plans. While they blame the government and Wall Street directly for the situation, many millionaires are not happy with their advisors' performance and few say they will increase the work they give to advisors," said Catherine S. McBreen, Managing Director of Spectrem Group.
Indeed, just 36% of millionaires feel their advisor performed well during the crisis and only 14% say they will increase their use of financial advisors in the future.
The Spectrem Group report, "Attitudes of Affluent Investors on Surviving the Economic Crisis," is based on the online polling of 750 households with over $1 million of net worth. Polling was conducted in November 2008. The data have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Information was also gathered during focus groups conducted in New York, Palm Beach, Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Attitudes of Affluent Investors On Surviving The Economic Crisis

Overview
As the U.S. economy begins to understand the impact of the largest financial crisis since The Great Depression, investors will reassess how to invest (or save) their assets and who they turn to for advice. How has this crisis impacted these households and are they changing their portfolios? Their attitudes? Their Providers? Their lifestyles?
Spectrem Group, the market leader in research of households with over $1 million, plans to quickly assess the attitudes, behaviors and outlooks of wealthy households to allow financial services providers and others to review and adjust their strategic plans as well as the products and services they will be offering to these investors in the next twelve to twenty-four months. Now, more than ever, investment and financial services providers, must understand how to position themselves to obtain and even retain current customers. It is critical for providers to understand these households to increase their fee based services.