One third of Canadians polled believe now is a good time to invest in cash, while south of the border 6 in 10 of Americans surveyed believe cash should be avoided for now.
That’s according to a recent poll by Manulife Financial Corp.
Canadians’ fondness for cash was also noted in a survey of affluent Canadian and American investors, those with a household income of more than $75,000 and investible assets of $100,000.
More than four in 10 affluent Canadian investors polled said now is a good time to invest in stocks, ranking cash just 10 per cent less than stocks. By contrast, six in 10 U.S. investors surveyed said it is a good time to invest in stocks, but only 13 per cent said it’s a good time to save cash.
Both surveys were conducted in the fall of 2014 before oil prices dropped.
“Before oil prices dropped, Canadians were getting out of the market and saving cash — a non-traditional investment product. These numbers show that some Canadians don’t see cash as a high risk investment because they feel it’s more secure and readily available,” said Megan Greene, chief economist, Manulife Asset Management.
The Manulife Investor Sentiment Index is a semi-annual measure of investors’ views on a range of asset classes and savings and investment vehicles, as well as their confidence in these areas. The index is based on online surveys of 1,000 Canadians aged 25+ conducted between November 15-29, 2014 by Research House, an Environics Company.