Professional advice still central as four in 10 Canadians turn to AI
Among investors, mutual funds remain the most widely held product at 53 per cent, followed by stocks (43 per cent), guaranteed investment certificates (38 per cent), and exchange-traded funds (29 per cent).
“The annual Pollara survey provides important insights into investor satisfaction and preferences as well as the evolving use of different advice models, which is essential for the industry to understand,” said Andy Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer of SIMA. “It is encouraging to see that investors continue to see the high value their financial advisors provide.”
Advisors retain strong investor confidence
Satisfaction with professional advice remains high across the board. According to the 2026 SIMA and Pollara survey, more than three-quarters of advised investors report strong overall satisfaction, while 90 per cent trust their advisor to provide sound advice. Eighty-six per cent say advice increases their confidence in reaching their investment goals, 84 per cent believe they receive better returns when working with an advisor, and 80 per cent consider the fees they pay to be worth the service they receive.
Financial advisors are also the leading source of investment information, cited by 65 per cent of investors. That positioning has held firm even as digital sources – financial news websites, online platforms, and community forums – are increasingly consulted and accessed more frequently. Advisor trust is particularly resilient when markets become volatile, a pattern WPC has tracked across multiple annual SIMA surveys.
The survey also finds that 78 per cent of investors purchase at least some of their investments with professional guidance – 43 per cent use advice exclusively, while 36 per cent blend advised and self-directed approaches.
