RRSP investors staying the course, online poll suggests

(December 17, 2002) The majority of Canadians are not planning to scale back their RRSP contributions this year despite the weak performance of the stock markets, suggests an online poll conducted for Advisor.ca. Three-quarters of respondents said they would contribute the same or more to their RRSP in 2002.

The informal poll was posted earlier this month on MoneySense.ca, a personal investing Web site and sister property of Advisor.ca.

About half of respondents said they would contribute the same amount this year as they did in 2001, while around 25% said they would contribute slightly more or significantly more. Less than 10% said they would contribute slightly less while 15% planned to spend significantly less.

The results of this poll are similar to a Decima Research survey conducted last month. It found that while the majority of investors were less enthusiastic about investing in the markets, 73% said they would contribute the same or more to their RRSP.

The poll results suggest the total amount spent on RRSPs should be about the same this year as in 2001, when 6.2 million tax filers contributed $28.4 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

The bear market does not seem to have affected investors’ appetite for equity-driven products, the MoneySense.ca poll indicates. When asked which investment products they’ll be buying this RRSP season, 42% selected equity funds, the most popular choice. Balanced funds were the second choice, followed by money market funds, income trusts, bond/income funds and alternative products.

The results of the poll also suggests that growth of capital remains the most important goal for Canadian investors, with more than 50% selecting that option. Preservation of capital was the second most important issue, followed by updating financial plans. Estate planning, saving for a child’s education, healthcare costs and insurance planning were the other issues listed by poll respondents.

“The results of the MoneySense.ca survey suggest Canadians are sticking to a plan to invest in their RRSPs, and that they have not given up on equities or the possibility of growing their portfolios, despite a weak stock market,” said Jim MacDonald, managing editor of Advisor.ca.

About 600 people took part in the online poll, which appeared on the MoneySense.ca Web site during the first week of December.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca