From trusted financial advisors to cryptocurrency, here’s how mutual fund and ETF investors are investing in 2024

Here’s what’s keeping investors happy

The survey found that investors are utilizing a broad range of investment tools and opportunities to find success with their investments.

For starters, investment funds are broadly held, with 61% of Canadian investors owning mutual funds and 24% owning ETFs.

Confidence in investment products is higher this year, with 92% of mutual fund investors and 88% of ETF investors confident that their investment funds will help them meet their financial goals. This is particularly important as Canadians increasingly rely on personal savings for retirement.

And they’re not going it alone, either — Canadian investors continue to take advantage of financial advisors. Satisfaction with advisors soared to 94% from last year's survey, while 92% say they trust their advisors.

Nearly 90% of investors believe their advisor ensures better returns, helps them stay disciplined during market downturns and improves their savings habits, with 8 in 10 saying that their advisor is worth the fees. Additionally, three-quarters of investors use advisors as a source of investing information.

Most investors express some satisfaction with how dealer/advisor fees are reported on their annual fee statements. However, only 67% of investors feel confident that they understand the fees they pay, whether management expense ratios or the fees paid to advisors and dealer firms.

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Investors are trying their hand at self-directed investing and cryptocurrency

Almost half of investors have done some form of self-directed investing and one-third of ETF investors do so regularly.

Moreover, cryptocurrency ownership is on the rise, with 25% of ETF investors and 15% of mutual fund investors holding these assets. Confidence in these products has also grown since last year.

Roughly half of mutual fund and ETF investors invested less in 2024 due to inflation, and the same proportion expect to invest less next year. Interest rates played a smaller role in this trend.

"The survey tells us how investors are reacting to the changing environment," Lesli Martin, Pollara’s senior vice-president, said in a statement. "It's particularly interesting to see how investors responded during a year of such marketplace volatility."

The 2024 survey samples included 4,077 mutual fund investors and 1,523 ETF investors.