Most Canadian couples are comfortable in talking with each other about their finances, according to a recent survey released by Toronto-based Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). But for financial success its important that they are equally open to talking with a financial advisor.
“Many individuals are sometimes not getting the [financial] help they need,” says Nicholas Cheung, director, CPA Canada. “It’s important that, first, [Canadians] are getting the help [they] need and preferably if [they] can work with the same advisor.”
Survey results of the CPA Canada 2013 Spouse/Partner Financial Survey found that 96% of respondents feel comfortable talking about financial matters with their spouse or partners. Furthermore, 92% said they trusted money decisions made by their significant others.
In terms of the division of financial decisions, 85% of respondents said they made major purchase decisions together, while 58% said creating a household budget was a joint effort. Fifty-six per cent of respondents said they handled financial investments with their spouses.
Ideally, as most clients are making financial decisions together they should also work with a financial advisor jointly, according to Cheung. “It would be great if both spouses were working with a particular advisor,” he says. “[Because] family plans generally need to be coordinated in terms of pulling all their assets together and figuring out the best way forward.”
However, there may be cases in which clients either prefer to work with a separate advisor or to be less involved with investment decisions. In such cases, it’s still important that clients at least keep any involved advisors aware of their thoughts.
Says Cheung: “It certainly helps the advisor to understand the goals, and concerns and the questions that come from the other spouse.”
Survey results were gathered from 634 telephone interviews of adult Canadians with a partner or spouse living in their household conducted by Harris/Decima between Oct. 10, 2013 to Oct. 16, 2013.