A new survey conducted by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) found that changes in the economy (38 per cent) and advice from a financial advisor (36 per cent) are the top two reasons why investors who normally do not review their risk tolerance did so in the last year. Another 17 per cent reviewed their risk tolerance because of a major life change.
These are just some of the findings of the CSA’s 2016 Investor Education Study that also explored barriers to good investment behaviour and found, among other things, that:
- Despite the steady increase in Canadians working with investment advisors, three-out-of-five investors did not check registration.
- Despite the steady increase in Canadians working with investment advisors, three-out-of-five investors did not check registration.
- People said common barriers to checking an investment advisor’s registration were that they didn’t know how to check, and that they didn’t need to check if the advisor worked for a major financial institution.
- Most Canadians are interested in checking registration if they know how, and Canadians do believe
checking registration is worthwhile. - Most Canadians, 78 per cent, said they would likely check a new advisor’s registration if they started working with one in the future.
For information on how to check to see if the investment advisor you are working with is registered, you can visit our Advisor Check page. You can also take our Risk Test to assess your personal risk tolerance.
The 2016 CSA Investor Education Study is the fourth survey on investment knowledge, investor behaviour and incidence of investment fraud among Canadians.
Report a Concern
If you have any concerns about a person or company offering an investment opportunity, please contact BCSC Contact Centre at 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 or through e-mail at [email protected]. You can also file a complaint or submit a tip anonymously using the BCSC’s online complaint form.
InvestRight.org is the BC Securities Commission’s investor education website. Subscribe to receive email updates from BCSC InvestRight.
