Spectrem Group says that U.S. investor optimism rebounded in June, as investors turned their attention away from war and other troubles and toward the economy, market conditions and household income.

The Chicago-based consulting firm reported that its Spectrem Affluent Investor Index climbed to a level of 16 in June, recouping the four points it lost in May. It characterizes the current reading as “mildly bullish”. The index measures the investment outlook of U.S. households with $500,000 or more in investable assets.

The firm says that in May affluent investors said the top news events driving their market outlook were the war in Iraq, sharply higher oil and gas prices, and the U.S. presidential election. The result was weaker investing sentiment and a grim outlook for the U.S. economy.
However, when asked about the factors most impacting investment planning in June, just 1% of respondents cited Iraq and only 3% mentioned presidential politics.

Instead of the news headlines, economic conditions were the biggest factor catching investors’ attention in June. It ranked as twice as important to affluent investors as any other factor, with 14% citing it as the issue most affecting their investment plans. At the same time, investors’ economic outlook over the next 12 months jumped to 43 in June, after plunging to 15 in May.

“The strong focus of affluent investors and millionaires on the economy in making investment decisions suggests a return to business as usual in June following an unusual period of uncertainty in May, which was driven by bad news from Iraq and significant inflation concerns,” said George Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group. “It is interesting, however, that this focus on the economy and other bread-and-butter issues should come as the presidential election draws closer — perhaps suggesting that traditional voter concerns may begin carrying the day.”

The Spectrem Millionaire Index, which measures affluent households with investable assets of $1 million or more, rose to 23 in June; remaining in “mildly bullish” territory. Spectrem says that millionaires had similar issues on their minds in terms of investment planning. “They were somewhat more concerned with low investment returns and interest payments than the broader affluent group, but a bit less worried about household income.”

The Spectrem Mass Affluent Index, which measures the investment outlook of affluent investors with $500,000 to $999,000 in investable assets, improved slightly to a very mildly bullish reading of 8 in June for its second increase in two months.

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 $500,000 or more in investable assets. The Spectrem Millionaire Index and the Spectrem Mass Affluent Index are based on subsets of the overall survey group.