Many Canadians' financial strategies overlook investing

Knowledge and/or fear of losing money are leading hold-backs for less confident investors

TORONTO, May 15, 2024 /CNW/ - Only about half of Canadians (48 per cent) say they're investing money each year according to a new poll from Investor's Edge, the direct investing division of CIBC. A small majority (56 per cent) say they are comfortable investing their own money, a figure which rises to three-quarters (75 per cent) among investors, but only half (51 per cent) consider themselves knowledgeable about investing (68 per cent, among investors).

Investors who don't feel comfortable investing their own money most frequently point to a lack of knowledge (65 per cent) and/or fear of losing money (57 per cent) as reasons for this sentiment. But knowledge gaps aren't just limited to non-investors—four in ten current investors aren't sure what ETF stands for (38 per cent) or don't know what dollar cost averaging is (42 per cent).

Only about half of Canadians say they're investing money each year according to a new poll from Investor's Edge:Sondage de Pro-Investisseurs

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"Knowledge is power in investing, but the good news is that you don't need to know everything to get started. In most cases, investing prudently and early is more important than having a perfect plan," said Luka Marjanovic, Managing Director and Head, CIBC Investor's Edge. "Having the right tools can be the nudge prospective investors need to start making their money work for them."

And for most Canadians, the importance of knowledge is clear—four in five said knowing how to invest is important (79 per cent) and believe having more information or advice regarding current investment trends would help them build confidence (79 per cent). Nearly three quarters of Canadians (73 per cent) admit they'd like to learn more.

"With living costs rising sharply in recent years, it's more important than ever that we bridge those educational gaps for Canadians," said Marjanovic. "The pressures on budgets are real for many Canadians, but there's also a long term cost associated with not investing and then trying to make up that gap later in life."

For those looking to learn more, a few considerations from Investor's Edge include:

• Starting early – Compound interest benefits those who invest early, and a small amount invested when you're young may earn much more in interest than many times that amount invested when you're older.
• Using the right tools – Quality research can make a big impact. CIBC Investor's Edge provides proprietary research and Morningstar Equity Research Reports to help clients make informed trades.
• Building in diversity – A diversified portfolio is one that has a mix of assets and exposes you to minimal risk while still earning a return—exchange traded funds (ETFs) may be an effective and fee-conscious way to invest in a broad range of equities without having to manage a full portfolio.
• Growing your knowledge – Books, websites, and online communities can all be great sources of investing info, plus CIBC Investor's Edge has an investing 101 page and a theme-based strategy builder to help clients get started.

To learn more visit www.investorsedge.cibc.com

About CIBC Investor's Edge
CIBC Investor's Edge is a leader in self-directed investing. Investor's Edge provides an intuitive mobile trading platform, easy to use tools, extensive research, and a growing library of educational materials to help investors chart their own course. Backed by one of Canada's largest banks and the forerunner in Canadian equity trading with CIBC Capital Markets, Investor's Edge helps clients bring their ambitions to life.

About the study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between February 2 to 7, 2024 on behalf of CIBC. For this survey, a sample of 1,500 Canadians aged 18+ were interviewed online, of which 813 qualify as investors. Weighting was employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±4.2percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian investors been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population (in this case, investors). A second online poll fielded between March 21 and 22, 2024 and asked a representative sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ general questions about investing. Weighting was employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The credibility interval for this second poll was ±3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

SOURCE CIBC

Benjamin Wylie, 647-212-2836, [e-mail]