Canadian investors feeling bullish yet need an emotional rescue

Many believe markets will rise but fail to keep emotions in check

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TORONTO, July 22 /CNW/ - Canadians are bullish about investment markets - and global opportunities in particular - but can't keep their emotions in check when it comes to decision-making, according to Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.'s latest national research.

Of Canadians surveyed who expressed an opinion, 54 per cent expect stock markets to rise, while only 19 per cent believe markets will fall. Emerging international markets such as Brazil and China were identified by 61 per cent of Canadians surveyed with an opinion as presenting the greatest investment opportunities in the next decade. The survey of 1,002 Canadians, released today at the Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum, was conducted the week of June 28 by Angus Reid Public Opinion.

"Canadians agree: it's time to invest and increase global exposure," Don Reed, president and chief executive officer of Franklin Templeton. "Among Canadians, the bulls outnumber the bears almost three to one -- and more than twice as many investors see opportunity in markets outside Canada."

The global sentiment reflects the bias of Canada's major institutional investors. For example, publicly-listed global equities make up 78 per cent of the Canada Pension Plan's equity portfolio.

Yet many Canadian investors have a significant home-country bias in their investment portfolios. The net value of Canadian equity mutual fund assets outweighs global and international equity mutual funds by a two-to-one margin.

The survey found Canadians have a difficult time keeping their emotions in check when it comes to their investment portfolio. Seventy per cent of respondents feel anxious, reluctant, easily swayed, get caught up in the market's buzz or simply don't know how to describe their feelings. Only 30 per cent of respondents said they "never allow emotions to affect my investments."

Since early 2009, Franklin Templeton has been monitoring Canadians' investment personalities using five common investment types: timid, suspicious, analytical, opportunistic and risk-taking. Sentiment is slowly improving in 2010.

Thirty-five per cent of Canadians describe themselves as either suspicious or timid - the categories that prevent investing - down from 40 per cent in previous surveys. The number of investors describing themselves as analytical, opportunistic and risk-taking has remained constant at about 30 per cent.

"Canadians' investment personalities have been remarkably constant after the market meltdown of late 2008, and that's why the recent drop in suspicion is significant," Mr. Reed said. "They need independent, rational advice if they want to meet their investment objectives. Financial advice is the key to building long-term wealth and meeting investment goals."

Media advisory: Investment Outlook & Opportunities Forum today

Franklin Templeton's research will be shared today with more than 1,000 financial advisors and investors attending the Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. The event is Canada's longest-running educational event for the investment community.

Franklin Templeton's investment experts from around the world will review unique engines of global growth. In addition to Don Reed, the Toronto-based lead manager of the Templeton International Stock Fund, advisors and investors will hear from:

    
    -   Philippe Brugère-Trélat - a global "deep value" stock expert and co-
        lead manager, Mutual Discovery Fund, Short Hills, New Jersey
    -   Don Huber - a global growth stock specialist and lead manager,
        Franklin World Growth Corporate Class, New York, New York
    -   Juliette John - a Canadian blue chip stock authority and lead
        manager, Bissett Canadian Dividend Fund, Calgary, Alberta
    -   Stephen Lingard - an asset allocation strategist and co-lead manager,
        Quotential Portfolios, Toronto, Ontario
    -   Lisa Myers - a global blue chip stock expert and lead manager,
        Templeton Growth Fund, Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas
    -   Brad Radin - a global small cap specialist and lead manager,
        Templeton Global Smaller Companies Fund, Toronto, Ontario
    -   Michael Reed - a global fixed income expert and vice-president,
        Franklin Fixed Income Group, San Mateo, California
    

Media access

To find out more about the survey results or meet Franklin Templeton's investment management team, the business media are invited to lunch at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, at 12 noon today.

In addition, the investor forum at 1:30 PM is open to members of the media.

About the survey:

On June 28, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 1,002 adult Canadians. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to Statistics Canada's most current education, age, gender and region census data to ensure a representative sample of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

Franklin Templeton Investments

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global investment organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Bissett, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust and Darby investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and more than US$570 billion (C$607 billion) in assets under management as of June 30, 2010.

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. has more than 600 employees providing services to more than one million unitholder accounts and more than 200 pension funds, foundations and other institutional investors. Additional information on Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. can be found at www.franklintempleton.ca.

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For further information: Media contacts: Debra Chan, Senior Consultant, Argyle Communications, 416.968.7311 X229; Sarah Kingdon, Consultant, Public Relations, Franklin Templeton Investments, 416.957.6191; Keith Damsell, Director, Corporate Communications, Franklin Templeton Investments, 416.957.6099