Young Canadians and affluent investors are feeling more confident about their finances both today and for the future, according to Waterloo, Ont.-based Manulife Financial Corp.’s semi-annual Investor Sentiment Index.
According to results released on Tuesday, affluent Canadian investors had a ranking of +35 on the Index compared to +26 in the U.S. and +21 in Asia. Specifically, the survey found that high-net worth Canadians feel confidant about investing in their homes, stocks, real estate and balanced mutual funds.
Furthermore, 56% of affluent Canadians believe they are better off financially then they were two years ago, according to the survey, compared with 46% of high-net worth individuals in Asia and 53% in the U.S. As well, another 61% of Canadians believe they will be better off in two years, while only 57% of affluent Asians and 49% of their American peers feel the same.
In other results released on July 2, Manulife’s Investor Sentiment Index found that younger Canadians are particularly optimistic about their financial future. Fifty-five percent of Canadians aged 25 to 34 are likely to say they are in a better financial position today than two years ago, according to Manulife, compared with 46% of the demographic who said the same in 2012.
Over a third of those same Canadians feel they are on track to reach their current goals. Furthermore, 7% of young Canadians surveyed for the index said they were ahead of schedule in reaching their goals. That is a slight increase from the 4% of Canadians who responded the same in 2012.
Finally, even though 41% of young Canadians say they are behind schedule in reaching their financial goals, the same individuals say they are confident that they will be able to get back on track.
Statistics for the Manulife Investor Sentiment Index are the results of online surveys completed by 1,000 Canadians aged 25 and older conducted in May 2013. Affluent Canadians are defined as individuals 25 of age and older with a household income of $75,000 or greater and investible assets of $100,000 or more. Manulife also conducted separate surveys in Asia and the U.S.