Nov 23, 2004/ FW/ --- According to the November index, investor confidence decreased by 3.9 points from October's upwardly-revised reading of 89.2.

Developed by Harvard University professor Ken Froot and Paul O'Connell of State Street Associates, the research unit of State Street Global Markets, the index shows that the quick U.S. pre-election run-up in confidence at the end of October and early November has subsided, and the index has dropped slightly through the end of the month.

The index nevertheless shows a small amount of net buying of risky assets by global investors and remains above its September 2004 level of 84.7, a relatively low level at which the index had approximately hovered since June.

"The willingness of global investors to take on additional risk across their portfolios is now above levels of last summer, when doubts about the sustainability of U.S. and global growth reached their apex," said Froot.

"A balanced growth picture is now mixed with renewed concerns about the value of the U.S. dollar and the rate inflation, and underlying them, the U.S. federal budget and current account deficits."

"As we drill down into the regional variances of the index, we see that investors from Europe appear highly concerned by developments in the Euro and U.S. dollar and are overall selling risky assets in relation to their portfolio holdings," said O'Connell.

"By contrast, Asian investors are more buoyed by regional growth prospects. They are displaying stronger confidence and systematic buying across their portfolios, more so currently than investors in other regions. Investors in the U.S. are in between, though they continue to add to the risk of their portfolios in a relatively light manner."

For more information, please log on to www.statestreet.com/investorconfidenceindex