The gain—the largest since the index’s inception in February 2004—follows a record low of -39 in November and returns the index to mildly bearish territory, according to a press release from Spectrem.

The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII), which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in investable assets, rose 8 points, also from its all-time low, to -31 in December. It remained bearish, Spectrem said.

“Millionaires and the affluent ended a dismal year on a relatively positive note, posting solid improvements in their investment outlook from record lows,” said George Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group, in the release. “Nonetheless, with both groups far more pessimistic than a year ago and the economy still ranking as their number one concern, the New Year appears off to a shaky start for the wealthiest Americans.”

In response to an open-ended question about the most serious threat to achieving their financial goals, affluent investors in December cited: the economy: (28%); market conditions (19%); unemployment (15%); the political climate (8%); health-related issues (3%), and housing and real estate (1%). Those choosing the economy fell from 38% in September 2008, the last time this question was asked, according to the release.

Millionaires expressed more concern about the economy (30%) than the affluent but less about market conditions (16%) (see “Millionaires Question Adviser Performance“).

The Spectrem Affluent Investor Index is based on 250 monthly interviews with the financial decision-makers in households with $500,000 or more in investable assets. The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index is based on a subset of the overall survey group.