Finlit resources to share with clients

With the launch of Financial Literacy Month 2018 came the introduction of various programs, projects and tools to help Canadians better understand their financial needs.

Now in its eighth year, the overall theme is “Invest in your financial well-being,” with weekly sub-themes encouraging people to pay off their debt and make informed decisions.

The annual, month-long initiative is led by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and Bank of Canada (BoC), and there’s a calendar of events.

To mark the beginning of the month, various organizations also made announcements, including IIROC and OSC.

IIROC discussed its sponsorship of new comprehensive research on household financial health and vulnerability. Released by Prosper Canada and the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD), the research and a related report—called Cross Canada Check-Up—delve into the creation and findings of the new Neighbourhood Financial Health Index (NFHI).

The index measures the financial health of neighbourhoods across the country, looking at indicators such as average household income, debt and liquid assets. The findings of the index can be read as an interactive map that allows you to input your address and check the results for your community.

The NFHI scores are based on Environics Analytics WealthScapes data.

One of the goals of the research, an IIROC release said, is to “see how financial health is distributed” on both a community and country level. The research is part of a multi-phase initiative by Prosper Canada, which is currently working on boosting the curricula and resources of financial educators, the release added.

Read: Your part in Canada’s plan to boost financial literacy

For those interested in learning about crypto-assets, OSC has launched two educational tools: an online portal that discusses crypto-asset products and services, and the OSC’s role in regulating those assets; and another website that “mimics what a typical fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) website may look like.”

“[The] widespread promotion and growth of the ICO market, coupled with relatively low understanding of cryptoassets among the general public, provides fertile ground for fraudsters,” OSC said in a release. 

That’s a growing concern for regulators across the globe. Reporting from Hong Kong FinTech Week, managing editor Mark Burgess found that regulators are still figuring out what to do about cryptocurrencies while acknowledging the assets aren’t going away. Read his article.

Also read: 5% of Ontarians own cryptoassets, most people don’t understand them: OSC

Other initiatives

IFSE Institute, an educational arm of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), will share a financial tip every day in November. Topics will include saving, budgeting, investing and estate planning.

The first tip was to test your knowledge, and the second was to learn your lingo. IFSE suggested Canadians leverage existing government and regulator resources such as quizzes, courses and tools.

Also released on Nov. 1 was a survey by CPA Canada, which found 41% of more than 2,000 respondents (Canadians aged 18+) said their financial situation would improve over the next 12 months. Conversely, 11% were pessimistic about their finances, while 45% thought little would change. Three percent aren’t sure about their financial future. Find out more.

When discussing financial literacy with clients, you can also share these articles:

Federal agency, partners develop financial literacy pilot

Financial literacy doesn’t translate to financial security: survey

What financial concepts don’t you understand?