Research

The CSA conducts investor research studies to better understand the relationships Canadians have with investments, and their views on fraud and regulators. This research also helps us develop new programs and enhance existing ones based on the needs of Canadian investors.

2020 CSA Investor Index Study

The 2020 CSA Investor Index Study is the sixth survey on investment knowledge, investor behaviour and incidence of investment fraud among Canadians. Previous surveys were conducted in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2016 and 2017. In addition to tracking key benchmarks on investor knowledge, confidence, risk orientation, behaviours, use of information, and investment fraud. The 2020 study continues to explore the topic of robo-advisers in a special topics module (first asked in 2017), providing tracking on prevalence and key attitudes related to these services.

For more information:

CSA Investor Research Study on the Impact of CRM2 and POS, 2016-2019

The CSA conducted investor research to measure the impacts of requirements introduced by Phase 2 of the Client Relationship Model (CRM2) and the Point of Sale (POS) amendments on investors.  The CSA conducted this study through a series of surveys of Canadian investors.

The research included one baseline survey by Ipsos Public Affairs in 2016 of about 3,500 Canadian investors, followed by six successive waves of semi-annual surveys, each with about 2,000 respondents, conducted by Innovative Research Group. Each survey included 50 questions that collected information on over 150 measurable items.

The research package comes in two parts:

  • CSA Summary Report: Reports on trends found in the survey results over the four years of the study.  An appendix in this report also contains the text of the survey.
  • 2019 Annual Report: Reports on results of each question in the study for all four years (2016 to 2019).  Contains sections for results nationally, by province, and by advisor relationship segment

CSA Investor Education Study 2017

The 2017 CSA Investor Index Study is the fifth survey on investment knowledge, investor behaviour, and incidence of investment fraud among Canadians. The CSA’s Investor Index survey is designed to track key benchmarks on investor knowledge, confidence, risk orientation, behaviours, use of information, and investment fraud. The full index has been conducted previously in 2006, 2009, and 2012; along with a shorter version of the survey in 2016.

The 2017 survey includes new questions in the following areas:

  • The impact of CRM2 on investors: With new disclosure requirements on costs and performance recently coming into effect, the study takes a closer look at whether investors recall receiving a CRM2 report, their perceptions of the report and whether they have taken any action in light of it.
  • Robo-advisers: With the increasing popularity of robo-advisers, the study explores investors’ familiarity with robo-advisers, their prevalence, and the perceptions surrounding these services.

The information and analysis from these surveys are intended to help the CSA Investor Education Committee develop and deliver programs to help investors make appropriate investment decision

For more information:

CSA Investor Education Study 2016

The 2016 CSA Investor Education Study is the fourth survey on investment knowledge, investor behaviour and incidence of investment fraud among Canadians. Previous surveys were conducted in 2006, 2009 and 2012. The 2016 study also included new questions around barriers to informed investing behaviour and access to investing information.

For more information:

2012 CSA Investor Index

The 2012 Investor Index is the CSA’s third survey on investment knowledge, investor behaviour, and incidence of investment fraud. The survey examined similar themes to those conducted in 2006 and 2009, including the incidence of “self-reported” investor fraud and awareness of securities regulators. The 2012 survey also included new questions in the areas of market expectations and the role of social media in investing. 

For more information:

2010 CSA Survey on Retirement and Investing

In 2010, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) commissioned Ipsos Reid to conduct a survey on attitudes and experiences relating to preparedness for retirement and investing decisions. More specifically, the research investigates:

  • Canadians’ financial readiness for retirement
  • Investments set aside for the future
  • Sources of income in retirement
  • Anticipated behaviour in response to a referred investment
  • Behaviour with respect to researching investment opportunities

For more information:

2009 CSA Investor Index

The 2009 Index was commissioned as the first full follow-up of an earlier 2006 CSA Investor Index, to provide tracking for key metrics. More specifically, the research investigates:

  • Canadians’ investment behaviour
  • Knowledge and confidence about investing
  • Investor understanding of financial fraud
  • Canadians’ experiences with financial fraud
  • Variables associated with susceptibility to fraud
  • Awareness of the provincial securities regulators

In addition, there is a new section on the importance of education about personal finances and investing for young people.

Once again, Canadians expressed confidence and believe that they are knowledgeable and responsible about investing. Yet, their behaviour may indicate otherwise. For instance, the majority of Canadians are not accessing information about investments, even though they believe that they would know where to go for this information. Also interesting is that just under four-in-ten Canadians (38%) believe that they have been approached with a possible fraudulent investment, a level that is relatively consistent compared to 2006 and 2007.

For more information:

2007 CSA Investor Study: Understanding the Social Impacts of Investment Fraud

The key focus of this study was to understand the impact of investor fraud beyond the financial loss endured by victims. Victims of fraud and their friends and family were asked to share their perceptions on the social impact of investment fraud. The study also explored the experiences of victims of both attempted and actual fraud.

The results of this study showed that the first casualty of fraud is the victim’s trust in other people, in the financial markets and investments in general. We also learned that the effects of financial fraud go well beyond the victim’s pocket book, causing negative impacts to health and social relationships. For more information on the results of this survey and how investment fraud affects Canadians:

2006 CSA Investor Index

The CSA conducted this study to:

  1. understand to what degree Canadians invest their money and whether they have the necessary knowledge and skills to invest appropriately
  2. benchmark their understanding of, and experience with, financial fraud
  3. benchmark awareness of securities regulators and expectations for them

We learned from this study that although the majority of Canadians understand the importance of being informed investors, gaps still exist when it comes to putting their knowledge into practice. For example, although 86% of respondents understand that suspicious investment opportunities should be reported, only 14% actually do so.

For more information about the study:

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