Forty-two percent of mass affluent households (those with a minimum of $250,000 in investable assets and/or annual household incomes of $150,000) plan to make net increases to their portfolios in the next three months, compared to only 38 percent reported last year, according to the February 2006 Phoenix Affluent Marketing Service. The report indicates a continued increase in investment buying sentiment among mass affluent households, which it first noted in August 2005.

Retirement accounts were expected to receive the most additional assets (a 70 percent increase in positions) with deposit accounts, mutual funds and stocks following, with likelihoods of increasing at 62 percent, 46 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Business investments and alternative investments were the least likely to increase, with 11 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Additionally, 53 percent of mass affluent consumers are not planning on making net changes to their portfolios. Only 4 percent expect to make net decreases to their portfolios in the next three months, which David Thompson, vice president of affluent practice at Phoenix Marketing International, interprets as increased economic confidence among a typically skittish group.

“Affluent consumers, a highly risk-averse group, are showing signs of confidence in the economy as they move their money back into the stock market,” Thompson said in a press release. “This continued momentum is an excellent opportunity for financial planners to expand and diversify their customers’ portfolios.”

The Phoenix Affluent Marketing Service program is the largest continuously fielded survey of affluent households in the U.S. and provides an ongoing summary of investment, financial and lifestyle behaviors and attitudes.