Canadians are feeling more confident this winter about investing than they did three months ago, according to a December poll.
The 16th quarterly Manulife Investor Sentiment Index found Canadians more optimistic about almost every area of the economy, rebounding from a post-9/11 low in late 2001 and weak results last year amid collapses of several major U.S. corporations.
All but two of 10 categories and investment vehicles measured in the regular poll gained ground from three months ago, lifting the Index to +19 in December, up five points from September 2002.
“Through four years of polling, we know that Canadians traditionally lean toward safer places to invest – that was particularly true following market reaction to the collapses of WorldCom and Enron last year,” said Bruce Gordon, Manulife Financial executive vice-president and general manager of Canadian operations.
The biggest upward swings in the past three months occurred for balanced funds (up 15 points), equities/stocks (up 10 points) and registered retirement savings plans (up eight points). Only cash lost favour among those polled.
The quarterly index reflects the percentage of those surveyed who say they believe it is a good or very good time to invest minus the percentage who say it is a bad or very bad time. “The index helps us gauge what Canadians are generally saying about where they favour investing in the economy,” Gordon said.
A separate question about top financial priorities in 2003 found high interest in paying down credit-card and other short-term debts as the main concern (23 per cent chose this as their top priority). Among other high priorities were lowering the mortgage balance (cited by 14 per cent), saving for their next big-ticket purchase (14 per cent) and contributing to an RRSP (13 per cent).
The poll by Maritz: Thompson Lightstone was conducted with 1,002 Canadians aged 18 and older. The results have a margin of error of ± three per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Manulife Financial (MFC-TSX, MFC-NYSE) is a Canadian-based financial services group.
