Younger Canadians feel that they are not getting ahead financially and they shouldn’t count on an inheritance according to the Manulife Financial’s latest Investor Sentiment Index.
The index also showed that despite robust capital markets at pre-financial crisis levels, Canadians’ overall investor sentiment remains mired in the recession.
Almost half (46 per cent) of Canadians aged 25-34 say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago while 40 per cent of those aged 35-44 say they are worse off financially.
Despite that, 62 per cent of Canadians aged 25-34, say they’re optimistic that they will be in a better financial position two years from now, while 60 per cent of those aged 35-44 say they remain optimistic for the future.
The latest survey results also show that it isn’t likely that younger Canadians will receive much help in the form of future inheritance. Nearly half of Canadians (43 per cent) report that they haven’t given any thought to how much cash or assets they’ll leave to their heirs. As many as 13 per cent say they plan to leave nothing, while more than one in four (29 per cent) say they will leave less than $100,000. Only two per cent of Canadians report that they will leave an inheritance of $1 million or more.
“The reality is that young Canadians will be the first generation to not be better off than their parents. Many Canadians haven’t even thought about what cash or assets they will leave to their children,” said Paul Lorentz, executive vice president, retail markets.
The Investor Sentiment Index is based on an online survey of 2,000 Canadians aged 25+ that was conducted November 12-22 by Research House, an Environics Company. A national probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.