Despite the Canadian stock market’s strong performance in 2025, investors are increasingly worried about their investments.
Investor sentiment is trending down, with 44% of investors feeling negative about their investments, according to an annual survey conducted by Environics Research on behalf of Scotiabank in late 2025. By comparison, 32% expressed negative feelings about their investments the previous year.
Respondents cited cost of living (49%), fear of an economic recession (49%) and tariffs (46%) as their top concerns for the next one to two years.
One in 10 investors said it was a bad time to invest, while 37% said it was a good time to invest, resembling levels last seen in the autumn of 2020.
In addition, 38% of investors said they were more concerned about funding their retirement than they were a year prior.
The survey also found that financial advisors can help clients feel more confident about managing their assets. Of those who met with an advisor in the last six months, 86% said their advisor made them feel confident in their financial situation, compared with 68% who had not met with their advisor.
In addition, two-fifths of investors below the age of 40 year said they used social media (43%) or AI tools (38%) as part of their investment decisions, while total investor use is less than 20% for each. And, only 7% of all surveyed investors have made investment decisions solely from AI recommendations.
Among investors below the age of 40, 65% said they still used an advisor as the primary way to manage their investments.
The online investor sentiment survey was conducted by Environics Research between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6, 2025. It included 1,045 Canadians aged 25 or older with household investable assets of $25,000 or more and who participated in investment decisions for their household.