Financial news

In 2021, Canada established itself as global fintech player, as it received the highest amount of investment in the sector to date. This trend continued in 2022, as according to Statsita, Canada’s digital investment market grew by $200million between 2021 and 2022. But which investments are proving to be the most popular by the country’s inhabitants? 

Is fintech investment growth in Canada significant when compared to other investments? Setting out to find the answer, HelloSafe, a financial comparison organisation, conducted a survey to find which investment solutions are preferred by Canadians in 2022.

A total of 837 people responded to its survey between September and November 2022. The company asked Canadians: ‘Which investment solutions do you prefer?’, giving them the opportunity to choose three options among seven main investment products. It found:

• The stock market remains Canadians’ preferred investment, favoured by 54.6 per cent of respondents.
• Real estate comes behind, chosen by 34.7 per cent of respondents among their preferred investment solutions.
• Further, life insurance (11.6 per cent) and cryptocurrencies (9.2 per cent) remain marginal investment options for Canadians.

Almost 2 out of 3 Canadians say they invest by themselves

HelloSafe’s survey found a strong trend in the way of investing in Canadians. In fact, 65.3 per cent of its respondents indicated they make their investments on their own. For those who seek external help to invest their money, they invest either:

• Through a broker (18.1 per cent).
• Through their bank (for 11.1 per cent of respondents).
• On the advice of a friend or relative (5.6 per cent).

The stock market is an investment preferred by all age groups in Canada

When looking at investment preferences by age group, real differences appear between Canadians depending on each option. With regard to the stock market, HelloSafe found that it was an investment solution that was popular among all age groups of its respondents, despite a fairly low score in for 36-45 year olds (36.7 per cent).

For those between 16 and 25, and those over 56, over 60 per cent of respondents saw the stock market as their preferred investment (60.1 per cent and 60.9 per cent respectively). Rounding out the other age groups, 58.8 per cent of those between 26 and 35  preferred stock market investment. Finally, 47.4 per cent of those between 36 and 45 indicated the stock market to be their preferred choice.

Cryptocurrencies are preferred among younger investors

• Respondents between 16 and 35 are those who show more enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies – with 30% of them including the cryptos among their preferred investment options
• On the other hand, less than 1% of our 56-year-old or older respondents have put cryptocurrencies within their 3 preferred investment options.

Even if cryptocurrencies appear to be among the preferred investment solutions for only 9.26 per cent of Canadians, HelloSafe observed important differences between age groups:

• Respondents between 16 and 35 are those who show more enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies – with 30 per cent of them including the cryptos among their preferred investment options
• On the other hand, less than one per cent of our 56-year-old or older respondents have put cryptocurrencies within their three preferred investment options.