Women have grown more concerned about being able to ride out changes in Canada’s economic performance, according to the latest quarterly survey from Russell Investments Canada Ltd.

According to the Russell Financial Health Index (RFHI) — an online calculator that gauges Canadian investors’ perceptions of their overall financial health — concern among women about the economy has jumped 17.9% since June 30.

Leading an active and healthy lifestyle (15.1% increase over the last three months) and having reliable, trustworthy professional advice (11.2% increase since June 30th) rounded out the top three largest increases in concern.

In contrast, concern regarding needing to help grown children and aging parents with finances has declined over the same period for women. Leaving an inheritance and dealing with the financial impact of the death of a spouse or partner were two other factors that women seem to feel less worried about.

The biggest overall concern for women remained to be the uncertainty of having sufficient income for a desired lifestyle.

“Although the Canadian economy shows signs of recovery, it seems that most women who used the Russell Financial Health Index calculator remain cautious and are concerned about their finances. We also found that women using the RFHI calculator this quarter were more likely to be single, widowed, or divorced. These factors may have also contributed to their increasing concerns over Canada’s long-term economic outlook and their own financial well-being,” says Kathleen Wylie, a senior research analyst at Russell Investments Canada Limited.

“However, it is also encouraging to see that finding trustworthy, reliable financial advice is emerging as a growing priority for Canadians as both men and women look to professionals to help them plan for a financially healthy life.”

Overall, the average Canadian financial health score using the Russell Financial Health Index continued to decline since it was launched in the fourth quarter of 2008, from 50.65 points to its current level of 47.95 points. A higher index indicates that Canadians are feeling more optimistic about their financial health, where as a declining index reveals that Canadians, on average, are more pessimistic about their finances.

The calculator allows investors to compare their financial health to Canadians across the country and is available at www.russell.com/ca.

The index gathers its data from a confidential web survey, which takes approximately five minutes to complete. Based on a user’s answers, a Financial Health Score is assigned, which can be measured against the scores of other Canadian investors who have used the tool.

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