The approval of the US government’s $700 billion bailout plan did little to allay fears among the country’s wealthy – a survey has found the rich are more pessimistic now than they were amid the financial collapse in September.

An index measuring the investment outlook of wealthy individuals reached record lows, surpassing previous record lows set in September.

The Spectrem Index, a measure of the sentiment among individuals in the US with more than $500,000 of investable assets, fell 8 points in October to a new all-time low of –30; its previous record low of –22 was reached in September.

Similarly, the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index, a measure of sentiment among individuals with more than $1 million in investable assets, fell to a new all-time low, dropping 6 points to –24, after reaching its previous record low of –18 in September.

“Despite approval of the government’s financial bailout plan, confidence remains extremely weak as investors await signs of its impact,” said George Walper, president of Spectrem Group.

The bill, that allocated $700 billion of government money to bail out US banks affected by the liquidity crisis, was signed into law by President Bush on 3 October.

In response to an open-ended question about the one factor most affecting their investment plans, affluent investors in October cited: stock market conditions (40 per cent); the economic environment (21 per cent); household cash flow (6 per cent); retirement (6 per cent); the presidential election (5 per cent) and household income (3 per cent). 

The researcher said millionaires expressed slightly less concern about stock market conditions (33 per cent) yet more concern about the economy (24 per cent) than the affluent.

The Index is based on 250 monthly interviews with the financial decision-makers in households with $500,000 or more in investable assets.