• Only one-in-ten think it's easier to invest than to save

TORONTO, Nov. 29 /CNW/ - When Canadians hear the word investing, the first thought they have is stocks (17 per cent).  When they hear savings, it's cash (28 per cent) and almost half of Canadians (46 per cent) say they find it easier to save than invest, according to a recent Scotiabank study conducted by Harris/Decima assessing the saving and investment habits of Canadians. There are some (11 per cent) who believe investing is easier. The rest of Canadians find there is no difference between saving and investing, either indicating that they are equally difficult (19 per cent) or equally easy (24 per cent).

Regional breakdown - Easier to Save or Invest

Of the Canadians who indicated that it's easier to save, half (52 per cent) feel this is true because it requires little research or effort and 36 per cent think it is safer. On the other hand, of those who believe investing is easier than saving, 14 per cent based their decision on the fact that with investing, money is difficult to access, as it is often locked-in and there are penalty fees for withdrawals. An additional 10 per cent of this group felt that investing is easier because it can be done automatically.

"At Scotiabank, our goal is to help make investing easier for Canadians and to do so, we wanted to get a better understanding of their thoughts and habits around investing, and how they differ from saving," said Gillian Riley, Senior Vice President & Head, Retail Payments, Deposits and Lending, Scotiabank. "For many, there is clearly a distinction between the two.

"Canadians told us that they see saving as a secure way of setting money aside for the  short-term; in comparison, investing is about growth and returns over the long-term, which has the potential to involve more risk," continued Ms. Riley. "Often, the short-term aspect of saving gives people tangible goals, whereas investing is long-term, which can be overwhelming since goals can seem vague and distant."

Though investing may be more difficult for most Canadians, almost half of the population (46 per cent) consider themselves both an investor and a saver and an additional 10 per cent consider themselves only an investor.

Regional breakdown - Saver or Investor

"While it might be more difficult for some to invest, it's not impossible and we are happy to see that the majority of Canadians recognize this," commented Ms. Riley. "There are many ways of making investing for the future a bit easier, one of which is to break down long-term goals into more tangible, short-term increments. For example, by speaking with your financial planner about what you would need to do over the next five years to get you on the right track for your future, it can be easier to get started working toward your goals."

For more information about investing for your future, visit www.letthesavingbegin.com.

Let the Saving Begin is a Scotiabank program designed to inspire and empower Canadians to get on track with their saving, investing and borrowing habits.

Built on three simple principles, Let the Saving Begin encourages Canadians to:

• Save automatically, because it works;
• Invest for your future, because no one else will; and
• Borrow to get ahead, not fall behind.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With close to 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve approximately 14.6 million customers in some 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a diverse range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With more than $523 billion in assets (as at July 31, 2010), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

About the survey

A total of 1,011 completed surveys were collected from a random sample of panel members across Canada. The study was conducted from October 14th, 2010 to October 25th, 2010. 

This was a standard panel survey among a random sample of our Canadian panel members. In a fashion similar to a telephone study, email addresses from our panel were pulled at random, according to population and gender specifications, in order to make the study representative of the Canadian population by region and gender. When contacted to solicit participation, participants had no prior knowledge of the subject matter of the study. Harris/Decima controls access to the study through passwords to ensure that respondents can participate only once. Subsequent to completion of the study, the data was weighted by region, age, and gender.