Canadians view health-care expenses as an important part of their overall investment plan, according to a study released by Toronto-based Dundee Goodman Private Wealth on Wednesday, and advisors need to start doing the same.

Survey results show that 46% of respondents listed health care as the second most pressing priority for their investment planning. More specifically, 50% of those participants aged 50 to 59 said it was their second biggest concern after retirement generally and 54% of individuals between 60 and 69 years of age listed it as a concern. Furthermore, 34% of participants under 50 years of age listed health care as important investment objective while 41% of individuals with investible assets of a million dollars or more felt the same.

“Everyone focuses solely on the retirement side of the business but obviously health-care needs are becoming very, very important,” says John Cucchiella, senior vice president, head of retail, Dundee Goodman. As such, advisors need to start thinking more about the insurance and overall health-care needs of their clients.

The survey also found that clients tend to appreciate firms that offer proprietary products despite being somewhat skeptical of such investments because of the potential benefits to the company. When offering these products therefore, advisors need to be prepared to provide clients with information to read before making a decision about the investment, according to Cucchiella.

Survey results also show that half of respondents chose their investment advisor or portfolio manager based on a recommendation from friends or family, 39% were referred by a colleague while 11% found their advisor through business. As well, those individuals with independent non-bank firms tended to be more confident in their advisors than those working with bank-owned firms.

The Strategic Counsel, a market research firm in Toronto, conducted 311 surveys on behalf of Dundee Goodman of individuals with $100,000 or more in investible assets between September 20th and 27th 2013. Dundee Goodman is a division of Dundee Securities Ltd.