Canadian investor caution to continue in 2014: Manulife

While most Canadians appear cautiously optimistic when it comes to investment options available, Quebecers are feeling a sense of protectiveness towards their money not seen since 2008.

In Manulife Financial’s most-recent survey measuring investor sentiment, residents of Quebec ranked, by far, at the lowest end of the confidence spectrum. The investment or savings product made no difference. Quebecers appear equally wary of stocks, real estate and mutual funds, as they are of tax free savings accounts (TFSAs) and registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs).

It’s enough to get analysts wondering just where all the money is going.

"Maybe there are some well-padded mattresses in Quebec," said Guy Couture, Manulife Financial’s regional vice-president of retail markets. He was only half-joking.

It’s not that folks in that province are lacking for cash. The same survey found Quebec leads the way in Canada with more than half of residents (53 per cent) reporting that they are on track to meet their financial goals. Another 6 per cent say they are currently ahead of their financial goals (second only to Alberta at 8 per cent).

“This is good news,” said Couture. "Quebecers may be overly cautious after the financial crisis, but it may be paying off.”

No surprise that it resource-rich Albertans who scored the highest investor confidence on the index. The boom in the economy can be measured in the number of construction cranes dotting downtown skylines, new infrastructure projects underway, job openings and salaries unmatched anywhere else in the country.

As Joe Ruddell, managing partner of Edmonton-based First Prairie Financial Inc., put it:

"If you are unemployed in Alberta it's probably because you want to be unemployed. It's not because you can't find a job."

Alberta residents (8 per cent) are also the most likely to say they are ahead of plan on their financial goals, though almost as many are not as confident about the future. Ten per cent of Albertans, the highest number in the country, said they expect to be in a worse financial position two years from now.

Ruddell said that sentiment reflects Albertans' natural tendency to be cautious about money, stemming from a cyclical, boom and bust economy.

“We've been through the ups and downs before,” he noted.

Couture cautioned Albertans to refrain from spending more than they make, pointing to disturbing data that found a quarter of residents are in a worse financial position now than they were two years ago.

“It will take good savings discipline, the right financial plan and smart investments to ensure they continue to meet their financial goals,” he said.

Ruddell suggested financial difficulties faced by Albertans are likely strongly tied to age. Alberta has the youngest population in the country, with new residents coming from have-not areas of Canada and around the world to tap into the flow of money.

Overall, the survey found Canadians are optimistic about our financial futures with nearly half of residents in every province expecting to be in a better financial position by 2016.

• Only 37 per cent of Ontario residents are on track with their current financial goals, well behind Quebecers (53 per cent) and residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan (47 per cent).

• British Columbians (23 per cent) are most likely to say that they are behind on their financial goals and are unlikely to catch up.

• Atlantic Canadians are most likely to say this is a good time to invest in stocks (31 per cent) and segregated funds (28 per cent).