• 60% rate their personal ability in choosing the right investments as fair or poor
• 56% believe they are not saving enough money for retirement
• 60% believe working with an advisor will result in higher investment returns

The research also revealed other interesting points.

Sixty percent of respondents rated themselves as “poor” or “fair” in selecting their own investments. Women (68%) were more likely than men (52%) to assess themselves as having weak investment knowledge. Only 12% of respondents considered themselves to be “highly skilled” investors.

The reality is, most people don’t have the time or the interest to become their own financial managers. That is why, in spite of tons of financial information being available on the Internet, most Canadian adults work with advisors.

Most adult Canadians are sold on the value of financial advice: 57% of respondents reported that they already use a financial advisor, and that likelihood increases with age. Seventy-one percent of respondents aged 65+ have an advisor, compared with only 48% in the 30-44 age bracket.

Think of your financial advisor as your money coach, who can motivate you, instill discipline and put a program in place to help you make the most of your current finances.

What would you like to do more of, if you had more time? If a time genie were to come along and say, “You have five extra hours each week to spend on whatever activity you like,” what would you say?

In our cross-Canada poll of 1,000 people, the top three
activities were,

1. Personal/leisure time (35%)
2. Family time (22%) and
3. Sports/exercise (17%)

Finishing in last place, ninth, was personal finances. Here’s
the rest of the list:

4. Household tasks (7%)
5. Education (5%)
6. Charitable work (4%)
7. Work (2%)
8. Sleep (2%)
9. Personal finances (2%)