Mutual funds are tried and true, but some investors ruled by emotions

Assets under management (AUM) for the mutual funds industry reached $1.43 trillion for the month ending May 31, 2017, reports IFIC. That’s an increase of $9 billion or 0.6% over last month.

Year-to-date, AUM for the mutual funds industry increased by $89.4 billion or 6.7%.

And, since May 2016, total mutual fund assets have increased by $159 billion or 12.5%. Read the full IFIC report on mutual funds.

Indeed, StatsCan data reveal that a leading contributor to Canadians’ rising net worth is mutual funds.

But working against investors is their emotions, reveals a survey by Adam Hennick of Hennick Wealth Management.

Read: Save clients from emotional mistakes

Hennick surveyed Canadians on their investing habits, and found that about 62% of high-income men ($100,000 to $149,000) regretted making an investment decision based on emotions.

And about 34% of men and 28% of women revealed they’d buy stock based on the recommendation of a friend.

Read: Don’t make these 2 investment mistakes

The likelihood of accepting a friend’s recommendation rises with income. About 12% of those earning $75,000 to $150,000 said they’d buy stock based on a friend’s recommendation, compared with 5.3% of low- to mid-income earners (up to $74,000).

The survey also finds that emotions disproportionately affect younger Canadians, with about 33% of respondents aged 18 to 34 admitting their emotions affect their investment decisions. But 75% of those aged 55 and older say they’ve never bought stock on a hunch nor without doing their research first.

About the survey: From March 21 to March 24, 2017, about 1,000 Canadians responded online to four questions about their finances.

Also read: CE Course: 34 ways to be a better advisor

Staff

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