About one-third of Canadians — 35% — sought out financial advice in the last year, and 26% of them paid for it. That’s according to a survey published by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).
People were most likely to pay for advice about general financial planning on savings and investments (63%), followed by tax planning (50%) and retirement planning (35%). Respondents who were 55 or older, had a household income of more than $60,000 and post-secondary education were more likely to pay for advice, the survey found.
On the other hand, the most common types of free financial advice Canadians sought were general financial planning for savings and investments (62%), retirement planning (31%) and insurance (27%).
About three-quarters (76%) of Canadians received financial advice from one or more sources.
Overall, Canadians were most likely to seek advice from friends or family members (37%) or from financial institutions like banks, investment companies or insurance providers (33%). A quarter used professional financial advisors or planners and one-fifth used online sources other than social media, while 11% of respondents cited print media, radio or television as sources of financial advice.
Just 9% of Canadians consumed financial advice from social media, but this number doubled to 18% for those between the ages of 18 and 34, the poll found. However, young people were more likely to turn to family or friends for advice (57%).
Women were found to be more likely to get advice from financial institutions (35% of women vs. 31% of men), while men were found to be more likely to get advice from the internet (24% of men vs. 17% of women) and social media (10% of men vs. 7% of women).
Conducted in February and March 2024, the FCAC’s 2024 Canadian Financial Capability Survey involved 7,963 Canadian adults.