Few Canadians are taking advantage of foreign investment opportunities, suggests a recent poll by Bank of Nova Scotia.
Only 28% of Canadians hold foreign investments in their portfolios, according to survey results released Wednesday.
Investors in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the most adventurous with 34% of respondents in those provinces saying they hold foreign investments. On the other hand, only 24% of Quebeckers surveyed hold investments in other countries.
According to the poll, Canadians believe that Asia offers the best investment opportunity for those interested in investing overseas. Thirty-nine per cent of survey respondents said Asia has the greatest growth potential for investments. Men in particular are bullish about the region with 52% pointing to that continent as a growth opportunity compared to 27% of women.
South America and the United States were ranked second and third (15% and 13% respectively) by Canadians for investment growth opportunities.
On the other hand, Canadian investors are less enthusiastic about Europe, Mexico and Central America with 8% saying they feel those regions offer growth opportunities for investors.
Russia fared even worse in the poll with only 3% of respondents believing the country holds investment opportunities.
Many Canadians, however, remain unsure about the global potential for investments. Of Canadians surveyed, 27% said they don’t know which countries are most likely to see growth in the coming year.
This hesitancy to invest overseas could be a missed opportunity for Canadian investors. “Depending on [a person’s] financial goals,” said Vincent Delisle, managing director of portfolio strategy at Scotiabank, “non-Canadian assets can be a great way to diversify and [make the most of an] investment portfolio.”
The poll is based on the result of 1,003 online surveys completed by Canadians between Nov. 28 and Dec. 13, 2012 using Harris/Decima’s proprietary panel.