British Columbians are Canada’s savviest investors

British Columbians are Canada’s savviest investors, according to BMO Nesbitt Burns’ Savviest Investor Index.

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British Columbia’s score of 92 narrowly beat out Alberta, which held the top spot in 2011. This year, Albertans scored 88 in financial “savvy,” followed by the Prairies (86), Ontario (82), Quebec (76) and Atlantic Canada (74).

The Index measures investors’ attitudes and actions. “Savvy” is determined by several criteria, including:

• Whether they have a financial plan
• Awareness of their investment profile
• Amount of attention they pay to market trends
• General knowledge about investments and how various factors can impact their portfolio

British Columbian investors led the country in a number of key categories, including having a financial plan, investment product knowledge and understanding how various factors can impact their portfolios.

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More generally, the study found that the vast majority (84%) of investors are confident that they are managing their investments well. However, despite this sentiment, the study also found that:

• One-third do not know what specific investments they hold in their portfolios.
• Half have a written financial plan, and only one in three have updated it in the last year.
• Just over half of investors (56%) know their investment profile (which identifies financial goals and risk tolerance).

Other key findings:

• Canadian investors are most knowledgeable about GICs (58%) and mutual funds (55%), and least knowledgeable about ETFs (19%).
• Most investors understand how their investments are impacted by interest rates (80%), currency rates (66%) and credit ratings (62%). They are least knowledgeable about how stock market fluctuations (54%) and corporate earnings (38%) impact their investments.
• Seniors are the most likely to know what specific investments they hold (77%).

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.