Demographic shifts have dramatically altered the mindset of Canadians and this is impacting both product offerings and the role of advisors in the investment funds industry, said Harris/Decima chairman Allan Gregg on Wednesday in a keynote speech at the Investment Fund Institute of Canada’s annual conference in Toronto.

More specifically, Gregg highlighted the impacts of demographic shifts such as the aging baby boomer generation and the drastic rise of immigration: “As population changes, it changes society’s attitudes about what’s important and it changes the marketplace. It changes the marketplace of ideas, it changes the marketplace of public policy and it changes the marketplace of products and services, including investment funds.”

As evidence, Greg noted that the investment funds industry virtually didn’t exist 30 years ago, nor did RRSPs. Such new products and services have come onto the market in anticipation of the aging population.

“They wanted to take more control over their own financial destiny,” he said of the boomer generation. “They started taking up these products and services.”

The aging boomers are under severe financial stress as they prepare for retirement, Gregg said, noting that the generation as a whole has net assets of zero — a sign that many boomers are “completely and utterly unprepared for retirement.”

More than half of baby boomers have at least some financial responsibility for their adult children, and another 24% have some financial responsibility for their aging parents, too. This reflects an unprecedented level of interconnection and interdependence between generations that will likely give rise to changing demands in investments.

“Thinking about financial products across generations, how you would help cross-generations invest and look after their different needs at different stages of life as they become much more involved with one another, clearly is a challenge we haven’t started to think about,” Gregg said.

The vast growth in immigration levels in recent years has also presented new challenges in the funds industry as Canada’s increasingly diverse population has correspondingly diverse consumer tastes.

Even the most sophisticated marketers are unfamiliar with the likes and dislikes of many ethnic population groups, making it more difficult for them to define target markets and sell products, Gregg said.

In terms of advisor services, these demographic shifts and altering mindsets are creating higher demand for a hands-on advisor approach, he said.

As many consumers are unaware of what products would best meet their changing needs, they’re seeking an elevated level of customer service, which Gregg calls “meta-service.”

In the investment realm, this means investors are increasingly seeking specific advice and, above all, trust.

“As a consequence, you cease to be simply a seller of a financial instrument,” Gregg said. “You become a planner and a confident.”