Results of new survey reveals priority areas among Canadians seeking investment advice
As the COVID-19 pandemic instils fear among investors worldwide, investors need financial advisors to provide valuable guidance. That means earning investors’ trust is more important than ever — and a new survey highlights some areas for Canadian investment professionals to focus on.
According to a new survey of investors conducted by Greenwich Associates for the CFA Institute, 51% of Canadian investors trust in the financial-services industry — the same level of trust that a similar poll revealed in 2018. However, respondents’ confidence in firms’ ability to manage their portfolios through a crisis has declined from 55% in 2018 to 48% in the latest poll.
While the institute found that innovation and technology generally play a role in enhancing trust, Canadian investors expressed a slight preference for the human touch, with just under four tenths (37%) saying they valued access to tech versus an advisor. Around one fourth (24%) said they would consider the use of AI to select investments, compared to 36% of investors who said the same globally.
Similarly, 81% of Canadian respondents said they would trust investment advice offered by humans over what’s offered by robo-advisors, in contrast to 73% of investors around the world with the same sentiment.
The poll also found that Canadian investors prize performance, personalization, and social impact. Compared to global peers, they were consistently more likely to say they’d consider leaving an advisor over underperformance (48% of investors in Canada vs. 42% around the globe), excessively high fees (42% vs. 38%), and lack of communication (34%).
Canadians’ interest in personalized investment products has jumped significantly over the past two years, from 50% in 2018 to 71%, which has partly been driven by demand for ESG.
When asked why they engage in responsible investing, 48% Canadian ESG investors said they use it to express personal values or make a positive impact; 23% said they expect higher risk-adjusted returns; and 28% cited both reasons.
