Canadians who have met with an advisor sometime in the last year are more likely to have established goals for themselves and feel that they are on track to meet them, according to a recent CIBC poll.

The poll identified an important link between working with an advisor, building a financial plan, and being confident about finances.

According to the poll, 61% of Canadians who have met with an advisor in the last year have financial goals in place for themselves and their families vs just 41% among those who haven’t met with an advisor

Confidence is also higher among this group that they will reach their financial goals at 77% vs a 66 per cent confidence level among those who have not had a conversation with an advisor

Canadian positive about their finances

The poll also revealed 69% of Canadians are feeling positive about their current financial situation and 71% are optimistic they will meet their future financial goals.

In addition, 71% of Canadians think it’s more important to set financial goals today than it was five years ago, although only 51% say they annually set financial goals for themselves and their family. Canadians aged 25-44 were most likely to have financial goals in place (57%)

“It is encouraging to see that most Canadians are positive about their current financial situation and are increasingly aware of the importance of setting and working towards personal financial goals,” says Victor Dodig, executive vice president, retail distribution and wealth management, CIBC Retail Markets.

The poll also revealed a gap between the number of Canadians who see the importance of having personal financial goals in place and those who actually set goals for themselves.

“Many Canadians are more focused today on the importance of setting personal financial goals for themselves, however there is an opportunity for more people to sit down and work through what they want to accomplish financially,” says Dodig. “It’s much easier to put money away each month or make an extra mortgage payment when you know that gets you one step closer to the goals you’ve established for yourself.”

Survey results are based on a CIBC telephone poll conducted by Harris/Decima, via teleVox, which surveyed 2,017 Canadians. The associated margin of error is +/-2.2%, 19 times out of 20. Polling was conducted between Sept. 23 and Oct. 4, 2010.