Canadians’ confidence about personal finances rises

Canadian investors are starting the year with a positive outlook about their personal financial situation.

This year, the Standard Life Investor Confidence Index shows that investors’ overall confidence increased by seven points from the index baseline year of 2011.

The index shows that Canadians are more satisfied with their personal financial situation (65%) and feel more secure about their employment situation (55%), compared to two years ago.

“Investors seem to have lingering concerns about the overall state of the economy, but they are quite satisfied with their own financial situation and acknowledge that they are primarily responsible for their retirement savings,” says Anna Del Balso, associate vice-president, market and business intelligence, with Standard Life.

When it comes to ensuring that they have sufficient savings to retire, three-quarters (76%) of Canadians believe they play the most important role, followed by government authorities (56%), employers (52%) and financial institutions (39%).

“While investors are satisfied with their own financial situation,” she adds, “most of them still seem concerned about the economy and more focused on protecting their capital rather than maximizing their investments.”

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