TORONTO – TECH – The last year has been a dramatic roller-coaster ride for investors and research shows that Canadians are part of the latest trends in cryptocurrency and “meme” stocks, among other investing habits.
A new survey released today, commissioned by Hardbacon — a fintech company behind the personal finance application by the same name — shows that 3 out of 10 Canadians have cryptocurrencies in their portfolio like Bitcoin (85%) and Ethereum (75%). However, despite its popularity, less than 5% of respondents rate Bitcoin as a safe investment, compared to 21% for stocks and 65% for government bonds.
Since the onset of the global pandemic, many other investing trends have emerged as part of the portfolio of Canadians. As we learned in the survey, among those aged 25-44 year olds, 30% of Canadians have bought “meme stocks” in the past 12 months, while 22.5% of them still have this type of stock in their portfolio. “Meme stocks” include the likes of Gamestop, Cineplex and AMC who have seen dramatic price increases, mostly fuelled by social media, and are often considered highly volatile.
So, what other investing habits are Canadians adopting? Below are top insights on Canadian investors from Hardbacon’s Investment, Retirement Savings and Financial Literacy Survey.
Key findings on Canadian investors from Hardbacon:
- Trendy investors: Survey shows that 28% of Canadians have cryptocurrencies in their portfolio, while 13.3% of Canadians have stocks that qualify as “meme stocks”.
- Not all FIRE investors: Although several stories illustrate cases of Canadians retiring before the age of 40, the majority of Canadians (56.5%) actually plan to stop working between the age of 55 and 65.
- Trust in long holding companies: When asked which brand gives Canadians the most confidence when it comes to investing, Royal Bank of Canada came out on top for 18% of respondents.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Hardbacon Financials Inc. from June 5 to July 14, 2021. We surveyed 506 people, all of whom were 18+ and living in Canada.
