Almost two-thirds of Canadian retail investors consider themselves knowledgeable about investing, but most still rely on their financial advisor when making investment decisions, a recent survey reveals.

The Joint Standing Committee on Retail Investor Issues released the Retail Investor Information Survey Report, which is based on an April poll of 1,000 investors who use investment advisors, on Monday.

The survey, which was conducted by independent research firm Strategic Counsel, shows that 65% of investors consider themselves very or somewhat knowledgeable about investing.

But investors still seek advice in decision-making as 60% of respondents said they use their investment advisor either all or most of the time when making investment decisions. When selecting an investment product, 78% of investors are more likely to rely on their advisor’s knowledge than their own.

Most investors want to receive information from their advisors prior to making a purchase decision and would postpone this decision until information is available, according to the survey. Only 4% of respondents said that receiving the information after the decision would be fine as long as it can be received during the cancellation period.

A substantial 91% of respondents consider their financial advisor to be among their top three sources of information guiding their investment decisions, while 65% also seek out information from friends and family. Other sources of information include newspapers, annual reports, financial advice websites and prospectuses.

Investors reporting lower levels of knowledge appear to be more likely to use their advisor as an exclusive source of information when making investment decisions, the report suggests. Of such investors, 36% would base decisions solely on their advisor’s verbal recommendation compared with just 20% of knowledgeable investors.

Less knowledgeable investors are also substantially less likely to carefully read documents provided by their advisors, and are less likely to draw information from prospectuses, annual reports and newspapers.

But most respondents admitted to spending little time reviewing information from their financial advisors. Prior to making an investment decision, 35% of respondents did not review the information provided, while 26% spent less than 15 minutes reviewing the documents. Roughly 40% of investors said they spent “as long as it took to carefully read all the documents” their advisor provided for them.

When selecting an advisor, 71% of investors consider experience the most important factor. Other considerations include whether the advisor is registered with a securities regulator, referrals, the advisor’s professional credentials and the advisor’s training and education.

The Joint Standing Committee on Retail Investor Issues, which includes the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, the Ombudsman for Banking and Investment Services and the Ontario Securities Commission, will use the survey data to assist with policy-making that affects retail investors.