Affluent Investor Confidence Declines as Stock Market and Economic Fears Increase

NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- According to TNS' Investor Confidence Index, there was a significant decline in confidence amongst affluent American investors in May 2010.  The Investor Confidence Index is now at 100, down from the December 2009 result of 112.  This most recent result reflects a reversal of much of the gains made in investor confidence since the post-crisis low of 81 was measured in October of 2008.  

The Investor Confidence Index is part of TNS' Affluent Investor Market Research Program (AMRP) and was conducted online by TNS from May 19 - 27, 2010.  Respondents had investable assets of $500,000 or more as of July 2009.  

The index gauges the outlook of respondents on multiple financial measures over a six-month period.  Despite remaining fairly confident about the future outlook of their personal financial situation and the health of their employer, affluent consumers are now more pessimistic than they were in December 2009 about the stock market, the value of their investments, and the general outlook for the U.S. Economy.   More dramatically, the percentage that is confident that the stock market will perform at the same level or at a better level in the near term has declined from 81% in December 2009 to 65% in May 2010.  

According to Ellen Sills-Levy, Vice President -- Investment Industry research -- TNS,  "This most recent Investor confidence finding is not surprising in the context of the European credit crisis, the May 6  Dow  'technical anomaly', the volatility of the world stock markets,  Americans' concerns about the creation of new jobs, the unemployment level, the budget deficit and investor inertia.  (According to the Federal Reserve, as of May 10 money on the sidelines in bank and money market accounts had reached $9.36 trillion, compared to $7.44 trillion in May 2007.)  This is obviously a time when investors need financial advisors and firms that they can trust—advisors they perceive to working in tandem with them and on their behalf."

About the TNS Affluent Market Research Program:

AMRP has been providing the financial services community with critical data and insights since 1981.  The study is based on a representative national sample of households with a net worth of $500,000 or more, excluding primary residence. 

The latest TNS Investor Confidence Index polled 1,412 respondents between May 19 - May 27, 2010. Respondents had investable assets of $500,000 or more as of July 2009.  

TNS is a leading provider of market data for the financial services industry.  In addition to AMRP, TNS offers extensive research on small business banking and consumer credit card usage. These programs are part of a global inventory of 43 syndicated research programs.

About TNS

TNS, who recently merged with Research International, is the world's largest custom research agency delivering actionable insights and research-based business advice to its clients so they can make more effective business decisions.  TNS offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology, Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and business issues, specialising in product development & innovation, brand & communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 70 countries, TNS is part of Kantar, the world's largest research, insight and consultancy network. Please visit www.tns-us.com for more information.

The Kantar Group

The Kantar Group is one of the world's largest research, insight and consultancy networks. By uniting the diverse talents of more than 20 specialist companies – including the recently-acquired TNS – the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and actionable insights for the global business community. Its 26,500 employees work across 80 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group's services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.  The Kantar Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP Group plc. For further information, please visit www.kantargrouptns.com.

SOURCE TNS