COVID-19: Survey Uncovers (Mostly) Good News/Bad News from Canadian Investors

39% See 'Incredible Opportunities,' 55% 'Playing the Long Game' and 17% 'May Never Sleep Again'

TORONTO, May 26, 2020 /CNW/ - According to Canadian investors, COVID-19 may be both the best of times and the worst of times. As revealed in a new national survey conducted by Qtrade Investor (ranked Canada's top online brokerage in 2019¹ and 2020²) among members of the Angus Reid Forum, Canadian investors are seeing the positives and negatives of investing during a pandemic in real-time.

Key findings of the survey:

1) Good News:

Investors are significantly more positive than negative about the markets over the next 12 months.

• Nationally, a super optimistic 11% predicted a quick market rebound.
  39% said there will be incredible opportunities to buy low.
  29% said smart investors will 'make a killing.'

Men are significantly more optimistic about the markets than female investors

• Male investors (36%) see more opportunity than female investors (22%) for smart investors to 'make a killing' during COVID-19.'
  
• Male investors (45%) see more opportunity to 'buy low' than female investors (32%)

"With everyone closely watching their investments during this unprecedented time, it's reassuring to see such a significant level of optimism from Canadian investors," said Christine Zalzal, SVP and Head of Qtrade Investor and VirtualWealth^®.

2) Bad News:

Nationally, 48% of Canadian investors said that it would take a long time for the markets to stabilize. 40% said they thought many investors would lose money.

• BC and Alberta (52%) are the most negative about the markets and think that 'many investors lose money' over Ontario 36% and Quebec/Atlantic 35%.

3) Partner Portfolio Pain:

• Nearly a quarter of Canadian investors (24%) responded that they would be extremely nervous (8%) or 'may never sleep again' (17%) if their partner/spouse took over their investment decisions. Happily, 40% of Canadian investors overall would have confidence if their partner took over.

"With investing, we know that knowledge equals confidence," added Zalzal. "A big part of ensuring investors 'sleep at night' is providing them with superior knowledge to make sound investment decisions. That's why Qtrade has just launched a new suite of online tools that offer the most innovative and comprehensive set of portfolio analytics tools available in Canada for do-it-yourself Investors."

Qtrade is now live with three new online tools:

Knowledge is power for self-directed investors. Qtrade Portfolio Analytics Tools provides self-directed investors with unrivaled access to the most advanced risk analysis and portfolio-building technology in the Canadian online brokerage space.

Portfolio Creator™ allows investors to build an ETF portfolio customized to their investing preferences. Investors simply answer a short questionnaire to identify investing preferences, such as risk tolerance, sector preferences and global exposure. The suggested portfolios will show detailed weightings by asset class and sector, benchmarks and more. As well, each one will be automatically analyzed and scored with Portfolio Score.

Portfolio Simulator™ allows investors to test investing ideas by creating their own investment portfolio in simulator mode. Compare portfolios, save, and change them later to fine-tune their investment strategy. Investors can even analyze simulated portfolios using Portfolio Score to see, at-a-glance, how well each is constructed on key factors such as downside protection, diversification, fees and performance.

Portfolio Score™ provides investors with more confidence in their investment decisions. Investors can see how diversified a portfolio is, including risk exposure. Portfolio Score analyzes the securities in a Qtrade self-directed account and grades the overall portfolio on five key dimensions: performance, downside protection, fees, income and diversification.

Additional survey insights:

4) Investors are sticking to their guns:
Asked if COVID-19 has changed their investing strategy, 76% of Canadian Investors decisively responded 'no' showing confidence in their existing investment strategies. Over twice as many male investors (11%) than female investors (4%) said they were rethinking their investment strategies.

5) Canadians with 100k+ invested are embracing the 'long game':
A significantly higher number of investors with 100k+ invested (62%) responded that they are playing the long game over investors with less than 100k invested (47%).

About Qtrade Investor
Consistently ranked among Canada's top online brokerages for the past 15 years, Qtrade^® Investor offers self-directed investors a robust and intuitive platform to achieve their financial goals. Qtrade Investor is a division of Credential Qtrade Securities Inc. which is owned by Aviso Wealth Inc.

Visit qtrade.ca  for more information.

About Aviso Wealth
Aviso Wealth™ is one of Canada's largest independent wealth management firms. Formed in 2018 from the united talents and resources of three successful, industry-leading firms—Credential, NEI Investments and Qtrade—Aviso Wealth provides Canadians with a comprehensive range of integrated wealth management services and solutions. Owned by the Credit Union Centrals, The Co-operators/CUMIS and Desjardins, Aviso has over $60 billion of assets under management and administration.

Visit aviso.ca. for more information.

About the Survey
These are the findings of a study/survey conducted by Qtrade Investor from May 4 to May 6, 2020 with a sample of 1,002 online Canadians, of which 471 have investments in the stock markets and are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French.

About Angus Reid Forum surveys:
The precision of Angus Reid Forum online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/-4.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian investors been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.  

About the Angus Reid Forum:
The Angus Reid Forum is Canada's most well-known and trusted online public opinion community consisting of engaged residents across the country who answer surveys on topical issues that matter to all Canadians.

^® Qtrade and VirtualWealth are registered trademarks of Aviso Wealth Inc.

™ Aviso Wealth is a trademark used under license.

™ Portfolio Simulator, Portfolio Creator, and Portfolio Score are trademarks of Credential Qtrade Securities Inc.

¹ Ranked Top Online Brokerage by The Globe & Mail in 2019.

² Ranked Top Overall Online Brokerage by Surviscor in 2020.

SOURCE Qtrade Investor

Patrick McCaully, Pointman News Creation, [email protected]