The New Brunswick Securities Commission today released the results of a recent study that finds the province’s investors have the right investing attitudes but don’t always act on them.

The study was developed as part of the commission’s education mandate, and focused on investor knowledge and skills; their understanding of and experience with fraud; and their awareness and expectations of the securities regulator.

The study revealed that while most New Brunswick residents understand the importance of being informed investors, there tends to be a disconnect when it comes to putting those beliefs into practice.

It found that while 86% of New Brunswick residents believe “having a financial plan is important”, 59% do not have a financial plan with clear investment goals, and 57% do not have a regular financial advisor.

A majority (87%) believe “you should never make an investment without doing independent research on any new investment opportunity”, yet less than half (42%) report that they did, in fact, personally research their most recent financial investment, and 22% invested immediately after hearing about an investment opportunity.

According to the study, 35% report they have been approached regarding an investment opportunity that might be fraudulent. However, only 29% believe investment fraud is common in their province.

The NBSC said that its residents seem to be less likely to have been victims of fraud than the national average. Just 3% who were approached with financial frauds report having invested in a fraudulent investment compared to the national average of 11%. And, while 86% believe it is important that all suspicious investment opportunities be reported; only 15% reported their own experiences with such fraud attempts.

When asked about the presence of a provincial agency for regulating financial investments, three quarters (74%) did not know if New Brunswick had such an agency. Yet 92% think that educating investors to better protect themselves against fraud is a very important priority for their province’s regulatory agency.

“The results of this study were very interesting,” remarks Rick Hancox, executive director of the commission. “In some areas, New Brunswick’s results are quite consistent with the rest of Canada. However, though New Brunswick investors are aware of good investment practices, they don’t always put this knowledge into practice. Our challenge lies in changing investor behaviour so that New Brunswickers are able to make smart investment decisions.”

The commission says it will use this information to expand and develop educational programs to increase investor knowledge and behaviour in identified areas.