The survey shows a clear revival in buying activity across major investment products. Half of mutual-fund investors purchased a fund in the past year \u2014 double 2024\u2019s rate \u2014 while 62 per cent of ETF investors did the same, up from 41 per cent. (Photo by DANIEL SLIM\/AFP via Getty Images) \u00b7 DANIEL SLIM via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Canadian investors jumped back into the market this year, buoyed by falling interest rates and strong market performance, according to a national survey from the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA). The study found a sharp increase in mutual fund and ETF purchases even as many households say economic uncertainty has them investing more cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think part of it is declining interest rates and individuals having to kind of go up the risk scale to get returns,\u201d Ian Bragg, SIMA’s vice-president of research and statistics, said in a media briefing. \u201cSo as yields on deposit products decrease, investors have to move to higher-risk products like bonds and even equities \u2014 but also there have been very strong market equity returns.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rebound comes as SIMA\u2019s annual survey of Canadian investors, conducted by Pollara, captures a more complex investing landscape than in previous years \u2014 this edition is the first since the Investment Funds Institute of Canada rebranded as SIMA and expanded its mandate beyond mutual funds and ETFs.<\/p>\n
The data show older, advice-reliant investors are staying the course with traditional portfolios, while younger and more confident investors are branching out through cheaper, tech-driven options.<\/p>\n
About 40 per cent of investors look to finfluencers for product recommendation. That\u2019s a pretty dramatic finding.Ian Bragg, SIMA\u2019s vice-president of research and statistics<\/p>\n
Eight in 10 investors make at least some investments through an advisor, and four in 10 rely entirely on one. The 2025 survey notes that, overall, mutual fund holders are the “most likely to rely on their advisor” for information. ETF investors \u2014 typically younger, claiming higher confidence around investing, and male \u2014 are far more likely to buy independently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen more self-directed investing over time,\u201d said Lesli Martin, Pollara\u2019s senior vice-president. \u201cThat has definitely been trending upward.\u201d<\/p>\n
People who do have advisors tend to like them \u2014 93 per cent say they trust their advisor and 84 per cent consider the advice worth the fees. Still, not everyone is on board: about 20 per cent of investors now buy all their investments on their own \u2014 a proportion that rises sharply among ETF and crypto holders. Thirty-eight per cent of investors now have an online or discount brokerage account, most using it monthly. Even there, 62 per cent still get at least some information from an advisor, showing Canadians are blending digital autonomy with traditional guidance.<\/p>\n
Digital channels have an ever-expanding role in how Canadians learn about investing. Thirty-one per cent of investors now get at least some guidance from “finfluencers” \u2014 which the survey defines as \u201conline sources that are not professionals but provide financial content\u201d \u2014 and one in four have used Generative AI tools \u2014 both measured for the first time this year. The attraction is cost and accessibility: 47 per cent of finfluencer followers say they use them because the content is free, while 28 per cent find advisors too expensive.<\/p>\n
SIMA plans further research into the trend. \u201cAbout 40 per cent of investors look to finfluencers for product recommendations,\u201d said Bragg. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty dramatic finding \u2014 it\u2019s important for us to understand the quality of that advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The survey shows a clear revival in buying activity across major investment products. Half of mutual-fund investors purchased a fund in the past year \u2014 double 2024\u2019s rate \u2014 while 62 per cent of ETF investors did the same, up from 41 per cent. The share buying within the past two years also rose sharply for both groups.<\/p>\n
The rebound in buying happened even as the survey\u2019s overall sentiment leaned cautious. In fact, more investors reported they were investing less (32 per cent) than investing more (19 per cent) due to economic uncertainty. (Around half of investors say their investing activity hadn\u2019t changed.) Crypto investors were the most bullish, the survey found, with 38 per cent saying they are investing more in the current economic climate.<\/p>\n
The survey also examined Canadians who aren\u2019t investing at all. Their reasons are familiar but revealing: 48 per cent say they don\u2019t have enough money, 29 per cent cite a fear of losing money, and 25 per cent say they don\u2019t know how to get started. Non-investors are more likely to be younger women, lower-income households, and new Canadians.<\/p>\n
Martin says the barrier is often psychological rather than financial. \u201cSome people just think, \u2018It\u2019s too hard, I don\u2019t know how to do this,\u2019 and they don\u2019t even look into it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
John MacFarlane is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on X @jmacf<\/a>.<\/p>\n Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple<\/a> and Android<\/a>.<\/p>\n