The nation’s millionaires were less concerned for their personal fortunes last month than in months prior, thanks to a strengthening economy, low energy prices and at least a perceived light at the end of the tunnel for the housing market.

The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII) and the Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII), which measure the investment outlook of households with $1 million of financial assets and more than $500,000 of investable assets, respectively, each showed gains in March after sharp declines in February.

The SMII and the SAII showed that millionaires and the affluent were less concerned about the economy as a threat to achieving their financial goals. From a high of 38 percent who believed it might hurt their fortunes in September 2008, it went down to 27 percent in March. The concerns over market conditions and unemployment as threats to achieving their financial objectives also fell by 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively, from February.

In terms of hypothetical investment preferences, the SMII and SAII indicated that the number of households who are not investing went down slightly in March signaling a small return to investing. Cash investing reached a new high in March, and Spectrem speculated this could be due to the fluctuations in the market and the tendency of the affluent and millionaires towards cautious investing.