Canadians wary of foreign investments

Canadians aren’t likely to have snap up foreign investments this year, says Scotiabank’s investment poll.

It finds less than half (28%) hold foreign investments within their portfolio, and many are unaware of which countries offer the most growth potential.

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“The number of Canadians [with foreign holdings] is low given the size of the country’s investment community,” says Vincent Delisle, managing director of portfolio strategy at Scotiabank. “Non-Canadian assets can be a great way to diversify and optimize investment portfolios.”

The top regions identified as having the greatest growth potential for investing outside of Canada were Asia (39%), South America (15%), the United States (13%), Mexico/Central America (8%) and Europe (8%).

Read: Time to buy in Europe

Men are more likely to hold foreign investments within their portfolio (32% versus 23% of women), says the study, while younger Canadians are the least likely to have foreign investments since only 16% have them.

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