Paying down debt is a top priority for Canadians, but there are other reasons for advisors to speak with clients about their financial priorities.

When asked to name their top financial priority in a recent CIBC poll conducted by Harris/Decima, the top three responses from Canadians were:
> paying down debt, 14%;
> retirement planning, 13%; and
> managing day to day spending and budgeting, 12%.

These priorities vary across age groups.

Among 25 to 44 year-olds, 20% named paying down debt as their top financial priority right now, followed by getting the right advice about their mortgage (13%) and working to build savings for the future (13%).

Those 45 to 64 have a strong focus on getting their plans and savings in place for retirement (24% named this their top financial priority) followed by paying down debt (14%).

Managing day to day spending and budgeting was also a key theme in the survey across all age groups. Those 65 and over placed a particular emphasis on this, with 22% of those surveyed over age 65 naming this as their number one financial priority.

“It’s no surprise to see that the financial needs of Canadians vary at different stages of life, which speaks to the need for individual financial advice based on your personal financial situation and your goals,” says Victor Dodig, executive vice president of retail distribution & wealth management, CIBC Retail Markets. “Clearly younger Canadians are focused on staying on top of their monthly cash flow and working to pay down their mortgage and other debts they may have, while Canadians in mid-career or closer to retirement are more focused on retirement planning.”

Opportunities for advice

The survey also revealed that Canadians may be missing opportunities to get advice about their financial priorities. When asked what comes to mind when they think about a conversation with a financial advisor, most Canadians mentioned retirement planning (27%) or investment advice (22%). While paying down debt was identified as a priority in the poll, only a small percentage thought about debt reduction (4%) or cash flow management (5%) as the topic of a conversation with a financial advisor.

“An advisor can certainly help many clients with their retirement or choosing the right investments, but we’re also seeing advisory conversations every day across our branch network on topics related to managing their cash flow using free budgeting tools, or developing strategies to pay down their debt,” adds Dodig.

Dodig says that taking an integrated view of your finances is critical to accomplishing goals such as paying down debt. “One of the first steps to making progress in reducing your debt is taking a broad view of your finances and looking at strategies that can help you reduce your debt faster.”

Results are based on a CIBC telephone poll conducted by Harris/Decima, which surveyed 2,017 Canadians. Polling was conducted between Sept. 23 and Oct. 4, 2010.

IE