A new BMO survey of high-net-worth Canadians finds a majority feel more financially secure now than before the 2008 financial downturn, a sign that the economic turmoil of the past five years seems to have bypassed the wealthy.
While 45% of Canadians have no emergency savings and 36% of older Canadians say they’ll postpone retirement to pay for a child’s education, the survey for BMO Harris Private Banking found 80 per cent of respondents with investable assets of over $1 million say they are the same or better off than before the 2008 financial crisis.
The findings released Thursday were based on a survey of 305 Canadians and 482 Americans who had $1 million in assets and who make financial decisions, and was conducted between March 28 and April 11. A sample of this size has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The study found that 54% of affluent Canadians feel they are better off now than they were before September 2008, with only 11% saying they are worse off and 36% reporting that their financial situation is unchanged.
This compares with 61% of high-net worth Americans who reported they are better off and only 7% stating they are worse off.
They also like how things are going today, including their investments. About 86% of the rich Canadians polled were very happy with their current financial plans.
Among the Canadians, nearly half (47%) of respondents expect the Canadian economy to improve this year, but they were more bullish on the American economy with 61% saying it would get better.
