The economic impact of Canada’s investment industry goes well beyond its direct effects, according to new infographic from the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) published on Monday.
The IIAC estimates that the industry accounts for approximately $76.6 billion in total economic activity (measured as real gross domestic product).
While $22.6 billion represents direct industry activity, another $32.8 billion is attributable to the industry’s suppliers. A further $21.2 billion is generated from spending by employees of both the investment industry and its suppliers.
Similarly, while the investment industry directly employs 40,865 people, it’s indirectly responsible for almost 85,000 additional jobs — 49,855 jobs at industry suppliers and 34,327 jobs at other firms due to spending by industry employees.
The IIAC also reports that the investment industry currently manages about $1.5 trillion in total assets, including $376 billion in RRSPs, $127 billion in RRIFs and $80 billion in TFSAs.
The industry’s 9,999 full-service advisors also handle more than 6.6 million full-service brokerage accounts.