Mid-Year IG Wealth Management Financial Confidence Index: Canadians Feeling Optimistic This Canada Day as COVID Restrictions Loosen

• Overall Index score is up four points from the same period last year
• Gen Z and Millennials rebounding: +5 compared to national average
• Women continue to be disproportionately impacted by pandemic

WINNIPEG, MB, June 29, 2021 /CNW/ - IG Wealth Management today released a mid-year update of its annual IG Financial Confidence Index ("the Index"), in partnership with Ipsos Canada. The Index tracks and reports on Canadians' overall financial confidence through ten survey questions, which account for short-term and long-term financial considerations.

As our national holiday approaches and the country starts to emerge from the pandemic, Canadians are feeling increasingly optimistic about their personal financial situation, with the overall Index score of 54 sitting four points higher than the same period last year (and four points above the three-year historical average of 50).

Younger Canadians Lead the Way
Younger Canadians (aged 18-34), whose Index score lagged the national average throughout the pandemic, seem to be rebounding as restrictions loosen and the economy opens up. Their Index score of 59 is a full five points above the national average.   

Notably, Gen Z and Millennials reported feeling more optimistic and confident versus other cohorts in key areas, including:  

• perceptions of the economy, both domestic and globally (+11 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively vs. national average);
• feeling in control of their personal financial situation (+17 per cent); and
• financial literacy (+16 per cent).

"As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, its great news that Canadians are feeling more upbeat about their finances," said Damon Murchison, President & CEO, IG Wealth Management. "It's especially encouraging to see younger Canadians, whose finances were hit hard by COVID, using the events of the past year as an opportunity to revisit their approach to managing their money."

Women Feeling Less Confident
The study noted that women have been slower to rebound from the financial consequences of COVID than men. According to the Index, women lagged men (51 versus 57) and are twice as likely as men to feel strongly anxious about their finances. Further:

• more than half (54 per cent) of women have experienced at least one negative financial outcome due to the pandemic;
• nearly one fifth say that their working hours have been cut;
• 32 per cent say they do not have enough discretionary income; and
• 46 per cent feel somewhat or much less prepared for an economic emergency.

"While Canada's overall situation appears to be improving, this continues to be a challenging time for many – especially women," observed Mr. Murchison. "We know that women were disproportionately negatively impacted by the pandemic, and this is clearly being reflected in their sense of financial confidence."

Mr. Murchison noted that women who consulted a financial advisor since the start of the pandemic (March 2020) had an Index score of 59 (versus 46 for women who have not met with an advisor). "Those feeling vulnerable may find it helpful to work with a financial advisor, who can take the time to assess their overall financial situation and work with them to create a holistic financial plan that maps to their goals and puts them on a path to achieving them.   

The IG Financial Confidence Index is part of IG Wealth Management's community program, IG Empower Your Tomorrow, launched in 2018. The program is dedicated to building the financial confidence of Canadians, especially those that need it most including: Indigenous Peoples, Newcomers, Seniors and Youth.  Visit IG Empower Your Tomorrow to learn more about the various initiatives IG Wealth Management currently supports.

About IG Wealth Management
Founded in 1926, IG Wealth Management is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of advisors located across Canada. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds and other investment vehicles, IG offers a wide range of other financial services. IG Wealth Management has over $109 billion in assets under advisement as of May 31, 2021 and is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies. IGM Financial is one of Canada's leading diversified wealth and asset management companies with approximately $256 billion in total assets under management and advisement as of May 31, 2021.

About the IG Financial Confidence Index
The 2021 results presented in this summary report are from an Ipsos survey conducted from April 12 to April 19, 2021.  A total sample of 2,601 respondents from across Canada participated in the survey. Weighting was applied to the total sample by age, gender, region and education level to ensure that the composition of the final sample is representative of Canada's adult population according to the latest census data from Statistics Canada. Since the online portion of the sample is not considered to be probabilistic, Ipsos cannot apply a margin of error to this survey. The precision of non-probabilistic Ipsos surveys is measured using a credibility interval. The credibility interval for a survey of 2,601 respondents is ±2.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population.

SOURCE IG Wealth Management

Media Contact: Rebecca Ellison, IGM Financial, 647-983-4963, [email protected]