October 12, 2010 CSA

Calgary – Canadian investors are twice as likely to believe they will have enough money to meet their retirement needs (62 per cent) as compared to their non-investing counterparts (31 per cent). This is just one of the findings in the 2010 Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Survey on Retirement and Investing released today.

The survey was released as part of Investor Education Month in October. Conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the CSA, the online survey asked 2,318 Canadian adults about their financial readiness for retirement and behaviour towards investment opportunities. CSA members will use the results of this survey to research, develop and enhance investor tools and resources based on the needs of Canadian investors.

“As securities regulators, our goal is to create an environment where Canadians feel confident to invest in Canada’s capital markets,” says Jean St-Gelais, Chair of the CSA “We are pleased to see that Canadians are investing as part of their retirement plan.”

The survey also found that 71 per cent of Canadian investors say they’ve done research on their last investment opportunity, either themselves (31 per cent) or through their financial adviser (40 per cent). Furthermore, when it comes to recommendations on high return investments from friends and family most Canadians would do more research before investing.

“We’ve been working hard to provide the tools and resources to help Canadians make important investment decisions,” says St-Gelais. “So we’re encouraged to see Canadians recognize the importance of researching investment opportunities, no matter who makes the recommendation.”

Investors can visit the CSA website to find information and tools about investing, choosing an adviser, and checking if an individual or company is registered with their local securities regulator. This information, along with the full 2010 CSA Survey on Retirement and Investing is available at www.securities-administrators.ca.

The survey took place between August 16 and 19, 2010 and has an estimated margin of error of +/-2.4 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

The CSA, the council of securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, coordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

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