On balance, Canadians believe they’re meeting their ambitions, including investment- and financial-related goals, said Michael Keaveney, client portfolio manager in total investment solutions at CIBC Asset Management, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2026 Defined Contribution Plan Summit.
Sharing the results of CIBC’s recent ambitions index, he noted two-thirds said they believe they’ve been meeting their goals over the past year. Looking at all age groups, the No. 2 ranking was saving more money, No. 9 was increasing income and No. 10 was paying off debts.
However, breaking it down by generations, millennials ranked saving more money at No. 1, with increasing income and paying off debts still in the top 10. Generation X also ranked saving money at No. 1, with planning for retirement and paying off debts high up the list as well. And for baby boomers, financial concerns didn’t rank anywhere near the top of the list.
“The CIBC ambitions index paints a picture of a glass half full. There are lots of challenges and uncertainties in the market, but in general, Canadians are feeling, across the demographics, that they’re meeting their ambitions going forward.”
Keaveney also set out key investment principles that will help all generations reach successful retirement outcomes. These include: diversification; fundamentals matter, but only in the long term; and being patient and investing for the long term. “Returns aren’t evenly distributed in the market; they’re very, very highly concentrated in a small number of great days and those great days tend to happen in the midst of extremely volatile periods.”
He also highlighted a study that showed headlines over the past 20 years have become increasingly less neutral and much more emotionally charged. While an article may be more balanced, people often just read the headlines, which frames their perceptions. “This is the thing your [plan members] are looking at and it has effects on returns.”
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Keaveney also referred to a Morningstar survey that showed investors generally underperform their investments because they make bad timing decisions. “They buy high and they sell low. They panic, they wait. There’s always a little bit of a negative behaviour gap.”
All of these investment principles point towards a target-date type of solution, said Keaveney, which can keep bad investor behaviour in check. “Target-date funds are made up of all of these other individual asset classes, but if you buy those asset classes individually, you are much more likely to make bad timing decisions. You are much less likely to make bad timing decisions when you have them in some sort of holistic solution.”
Read more coverage from the 2026 DC Plan Summit.